My Heart's Desire
by Sasonie
Summary: Hikari lives in a forgotten temple protecting a lost relic with her grandfather. Her life is simple and secret from outsiders. Until she accidently ressurrects Kuronue; a demon condemned to Hell. Kill or save her, he's her only chance to save the world.
1. The Legend

"Long ago, in the faraway land of Greece, there was a golden age of powerful gods and extraordinary heroes. But the greatest and strongest of all these heroes was the mighty Hercules. But what is the measure of a true hero? Ah, that is what our story is-"

"Grandpa wrong story. You're reciting movies again." Kiyoshi looked up from his sitting position over a dozen or so unfinished fudas. "What?"

Hikari didn't even look up as she continued brushing away bits of twigs and flower petals off of the worn porch. "You're telling me the beginning of Hercules grandpa. The movie I told you about 3 months ago." _And the one you keep asking me to repeat at odd hours of the night, _she added as an after thought.

Ever since Hikari had first watched a movie at the age of 10 and had come home excited beyond words telling her family about it her grandfather hadn't stopped asking about them. The moving pictures that spilled forth music of such astounding quality and showered feelings and inner thoughts like rain amazed him, he couldn't get enough of it.

Kiyoshi often asked her to go into the city and watch a movie for him. Giving her just enough money to see it and get a round trip bus ticket. If there was anywhere that they needed to go Hikari was always the one to do it. No matter what it was.

Her grandfather never left the temple, not once in his life. He had never even stepped past the torrii, explaining that the temple should never be left unguarded, misfortune would follow and the sacred things they protected would be lost, and that the awesome spirits would be displeased with him. That he said was what worried him most and he would usually finish his explanation with a silent prayer to honor them. But when she had asked if the spirits were angry with her for leaving so often he had answered quite differently. Hikari had meant it as a joke but he had taken it quite seriously.

He had looked off toward the sacred statue, too long faded and worn to make out any features besides two eyes and a very large beard (not Buddha that was for sure) and responded with a strange smile. "No Hikari, they are very pleased with you…much more than you will ever realize…" When she tried to ask further into what he had meant by that he seemed to snap out of whatever trance he had fallen into and had harshly ordered that she go repair the back wall.

As she was quickly grabbing the hammer, trying to get out of a severe head smacking, Hikari noticed that his bald forehead was creased in hundreds of wrinkles and that he took a quick glance to the statue. Almost like he was afraid he had let something slip that should have never reached her ears. She heard him muttering things under his breathe as he went to cleanse himself for the morning prayers, leaving her alone to repair the wall and ponder his strange antics.

Whatever the case was with her grandfather, Hikari really didn't mind. He was all that she had left now and even his strange quirks had a few benefits. Whenever asked to go see a movie or run into the city Hikari got the entire day off from chores and prayers and could spend as much time around actual people as she wanted. A blessing and a curse to her.

Observing the people is more of what she did. She really didn't know any one anywhere. She preferred to be left alone most of the time. Not really having anything in common with any of the people she saw. So wrapped up in their own high tech modern worlds while she lingered in her dark ages where the soul and spirit were more important than the new CD at Hot Topic.

Quiet and reserved was Hikari's style around strangers. Being unnoticed in a sea of rushing bodies was her specialty and really wasn't as hard as one thought. She just closed off all possibilities of her standing out. Almost like pinning a card to her forehead that read 'I'm just like everyone else, a sheep, nothing different here.' That card was read too, no one even glanced her way or paid her the slightest bit of attention. Seeming to 'except' her in their world.

She thrived at looking like she belonged to any group and then morphing into another. Being normal like anyone else her age for a few seconds before turning to the next group so they wouldn't notice that something was wrong with their 'click'. It was almost like a game, a way to pass the time.

Hikari would entertain the idea of what her life would be like if she wasn't at the temple, then quickly abandon these thoughts. Why have a life like everyone else? Though in some ways her life wasn't at all that different.

She did go to school like any normal kid but it was almost as if they could sense something strange and unusual about her. Hell, even her grandfather often said she gave off a vibe of the unexpected and mystery. Something Hikari took great pride in. So she was generally avoided and left alone. But then again that was what she wanted most of the time anyway.

Such conflicting desires racked her mind, one side sometimes wanting to belong to something just for the sake of not being alone while the other, more persistent side, telling her to except herself and wait, but wait for what? That persistent tingling as if something new was just on the horizon had been with Hikari for a while now but she had given up hope that that something would come and took to just ignoring the strange pulses she seemed to receive every now and then.

A sort of entertainment came at guessing what these people did in their lives, where they lived, and what was going on at that moment in time. It wasn't hard. After awhile of observing you just start to notice certain characteristics and traits popping out at you, just waiting to be discovered.

That was often how her time would be spent, if not that then wandering around the city visiting all the places that her legs could carry her in a 2-hour span of time. Since the first 4 were devoted to watching the movie for grandpa. The first 2 hours actually enjoying the movie while the other 2 two hours were watching the movie again but centered on memorizing the lines and specific moments.

6 hours was long enough to be gone. Even grandpa being as naive as he was about the real world knew that a movie didn't take over 6 hours and besides after 2 hours a sort of claustrophobic reaction occurred in Hikari. She would long for the wide trees and solitude of the temple than the tall, imposing buildings and speeding traffic of the city.

She always returned before sunset or faced the punishment of severe and unique qualities by Kiyoshi-san. Her grandfather was paranoid about her being even outside the front door after dark, claiming that the evils of the world were waiting just beyond her sight, itching for her young pure flesh. Hikari just thought he was still scared of the dark but she did as he asked.

As soon as she walked across the ancient wood of the first room she was assaulted by questions from Kiyoshi and ushered into his room where she would spend the rest of the night performing. In rather odd clothes and a wide range of voices on what the movie had been about. Often times if the movie tickled her grandfather's fancy enough he would request (usually around 1 a.m.) that she perform his favorite parts again.

"Oh, yes. They start out quite the same don't they?" Kiyoshi looked back down to his half finished Kanji, dipping his brush in the obsidian ink before applying a few well placed strokes. Hikari stifled a giggle as she heard a chorus of The Gospel Truth float her way.

Kiyoshi loved Disney movies. The pure innocence of the films thrilled him. The underlining themes of good will always triumph over evil when the real world as they both knew it was far from being that always seemed to please him. Like a six year old with a new toy was probably the best way to describe him. Plus he loved the songs. A tune catchy enough could be heard for weeks around the temple.

Hikari continued sweeping the leaves and blossoms into the wicker basket that lay at end of the porch. Left, right. Left, right. Left, long sweep right. Left… A rhythmic pattern, nothing unpredicted happened and you could always see where the long brown bristles were going to take you next. Occasionally a sneaky leaf would somehow escape the powerful strokes of the broom, causing Hikari to break her routine and go back for the leaf. But then it would start again, like a well rehearsed song. Very much like her life.

The same routine, day in and day out, but in the real world there was no stray leaf to make her life different. Maybe that was the reason for the tingling sensations that she got, to warn her perhaps? That something new was about to happen? No, you couldn't believe such things as princess dreams and foolish whims. That was for children and Hikari was done with being a child, hopes and fantasies had left her a long time ago.

"Now…how does it go?" Kiyoshi looked over to Hikari's swaying figure expectantly. Without even glancing over her shoulder she replied, almost as if she could see the words unfold in the decaying wood at her feet.

"Long ago…in the faraway land of Japan. There was a time of demons. All the people of the land knew of them and prayed for their safety against the creatures of darkness. It was a time of chaos. Blood cloaked the air the people breathed and brutality stained the lives of the living. While dishonor and endless pain bathed the dead."

Hikari took her time to move the basket a little closer to where her grandfather was sitting, waiting for her to continue with the story they both had heard since the first day they had come into the world.

She placed the basket carefully around a small, brightly flowered bush and continued with her sweeping as her voice carried over the birdsong and deep into the dense woods.

"No one could stop the onslaught of murder that washed upon the land. Those few brave enough to step forward were quickly killed. The demons were just too numerous and all were experienced with fighting tactics. That's how they lived. The one simple rule that only the strongest will survive and the people of Japan, sadly, were not the strongest."

Hikari stepped around her grandfather, maneuvering the broom so as not to brush against him. Like it would have mattered. He could have been hit over the head with a fish and it wouldn't have fazed him. He was too engrossed in the story that was being told.

She had that effect. No matter how many times the story was recited she was able to tell it in such a way that it kept her audience entranced, hanging on her worlds like yo yos, their interest going up and down but always with in her control. All it took was the right words said in this or that way.

"The people didn't know what to do. What could they do but wait for their inevitable death and the slow destruction of their country? With out question the people resigned themselves to their fate and left no hope for the future. But there was one man who wouldn't surrender to die by such monsters. He stood tall while the people around him crumbled and succumbed to the tide. Out of them all he alone _wouldn't _lie down as his people and country suffered, he would find a way no matter the cost."

Her voice grew with strength and power as the words spilled from her mouth. Almost like a river, starting out small with little weight but as it carried on it grew and swelled until it became a force that nothing could stop.

"His name was Takeshi Yasahiromuto." Kiyoshi felt shivers run up and down his spine as he whispered the name with Hikari. He bowed his head respectively as she drew out a thin line of silence. Honoring him. Kiyoshi took over the story now, his experience with these letters well beyond her 16 years. He took his time, saying his words carefully and with precise meaning behind each syllable.

"A great monk was Takeshi. It was said that he purified himself 100 times a day and that he walked with the dead spirits by night. Only with him were they merciful. He traveled from village to village, cleansing the souls and shrines there. Doing what he could for the people. In some stories they recalled how he could heal any wound no matter how great or small with just one prayer. And with demons, heh." He smiled knowing down at his fuda, touching it lightly with his fingers. "He could purify any with just _one_ of these."

"The violence in Japan was growing greater every day. If it were to be ever stopped it would have to be now. Takeshi knew this and so he prepared for a battle that would decide the world's future as well as seal his own."

"In the far north of Japan there was a village. Now dead and long forgotten but 600 years ago it was thriving and prosperous and also one of the last places of safety for the people to turn to. Takeshi journeyed there, knowing that he must place himself at that spot for the battle that was sure to come. As he journeyed he encountered thousands of demons who wished him dead. But each one he faced fell. And as each one died by his might word of his power grew and the demons began to doubt if they could take this world. A feeling of fear took root in their hearts and uncertainty riddled their minds."

"At last, after many years and defeating unspeakable terrors Takeshi arrived at the village of Tokuwa only to find it destroyed, burned to a smoking ash and its citizens annihilated. The enemy had known he would come long before and had waited until he was just within its borders to strike. It wanted to see him suffer. It wanted his spirit crushed and his bones scattered to the four winds. All that he had done was now worthless. Everything he had worked so hard to save had been lost as easily as it was to blow out a single flame."

Kiyoshi paused, letting his words sink in, he hoped for peace for the lost souls of the village, knowing that being killed by demons was impure and that fact would not let them rest. They would wander the earth for the rest of eternity, lost and alone.

"Takeshi stood upon the ruins of the village looking down on the burnt cloth of a little girl's doll. At the sight of the doll, something happened inside the monk. He felt pure rage, unaltered and in its truest form. Such a feeling could not exist in a being such as him but there it gave birth. Takeshi took the doll and with a cry that woke the spirits to come to his aid he desecrated the demons that had gathered around him. A bright nearly blinding light came from within the monk as he screamed to the heavens. The hundreds of demons that had come to destroy him shook in fear and ran for their lives only to be swallowed up in the light. Obliterated on impact."

Hikari stopped her robotic sweeping. That was new. Never before had she heard her grandfather or anyone in her family describe how Takeshi had defeated the thousands of demons that had been ordered to the village to defeat him. All they had ever said was that Takashi had killed them all. But Hikari pushed the thought to the back of her mind, straining her ears to hear the next part. The very reason she was here.

"The leader of the demons was furious. His anger caused an earthquake to split many villages in half and even a volcano to erupt. He had had enough with this monk. It was time that someone kill him, so why not him? This monk had destroyed too many of his followers already; in truth he couldn't afford any more looses. The man would be dealt with and such a joy would come when his split flesh spilt fresh blood for all the humans to see. A lesson to them and a message of what they were to expect."

"So it was that Yukio went to the village of Tokuwa to challenge Takeshi to the death. Takeshi was waiting for him by the ruins of the village temple. As Yukio approached Takeshi did not stir from his kneel at the place where the shrine would have been. He continued praying, as though nothing were wrong. Yukio's anger grew white hot at the impudence that this mortal showed him. Did he not realize that he was going to die this very day and that the world as he knew it would also share that same fate? Apparently not."

"Yukio grew tired of waiting for his presence to become known and for Takeshi to beg for his life. With a warrior's cry that shook the very stars Yukio launched himself at Takeshi, sword drawn for the final blow. But still Takeshi did not move. It was not until the blade was a breath away from his neck that Takeshi spoke."

"On this day Yukio I end three things. Your life, your destruction to our world, and my own life."

Both Hikari and Kiyoshi spoke the famous words together. Feeling in themselves what Takeshi must have felt himself that day.

"It was then that Takeshi pulled out one single fuda, one so powerful that it has never been duplicated since. Such power and concentration went into every fiber of the paper. It is said that it glowed with the power of the villagers souls, and that only with them could it be made."

"As the blade came down upon his neck, Takeshi, with his final breath, cried the word for the power to be unleashed. As his life ended so did Yukio and his desire to destroy the people of the world. The few demons who were left saw what had befallen their master and fled for their lives but only to be killed later."

"The few people who bore witness to such an event of power crowded around the massive hole where their beloved monk had given his life to save theirs. The only remains that they gathered were the bones of the monk and his fuda, completely unharmed. It was there on that spot that a temple was built to honor that monk. His children helped build the strong walls and put protective seals around the fuda so as to preserve it and remember."

"So it came to be that all who came into the line of Takeshi Yasahiromuto served under the temple and taught the ways of Takeshi to their children so that they will one day take care of the ancient and historic fuda. The world has long forgotten what happened upon that mountain so long ago and there are now no demons left. But still the children of Takeshi remember and honor him as they have been doing for 600 years, here at Onikiri temple."

Kiyoshi smiled and gathered his own completed fudas as the last notes of his voice faded on the evening air. "For that is why we're here, is it not Hikari? To continue Takeshi's great work."

Hikari looked up from her completed sweeping. Slowly she nodded and looked over to the fading light of the forest. Deep golds and vibrant reds reflected through her almost black brown eyes. Something about that story never added up. It had been told the same way for centuries but some of the pieces just didn't make sense. Almost as if the original story teller were deliberately hiding something.

Her troubled thoughts must have shown on her face because Kiyoshi came up to her side and gently touched her arm. "Something troubling you Hikari? You are not as you usually are after a telling of our family history. Especially your favorite tale."

She glanced up at her grandfather, setting the broom against the wall distractedly. "Something…has always troubled me about your story…What exactly happened on this mountain? It is never really explained…I know how powerful Takeshi was but, the size of the land he would have had to covered and the amount of demons he would have had to slain is just too much. He couldn't have done it. It leaves me to think that the story you have been telling me for years has been….altered somehow…"

Kiyoshi smiled at her impudence. She was the only member of the house who would directly question the legends that were their entire way of life. Of course in time every one of the family had gotten around to asking a question similar to hers, except with more respect and about a dozen apologies thrown in after every few words.

"You don't believe that Takeshi was powerful enough to destroy Yukio?" Kiyoshi raised a bushy eyebrow, enhancing his reprimand for her questions. All this seemed to do, though, was irritate the girl.

She crossed her arms and sighed, annoyingly flipping her long hair out of her eyes. "No, not at all. I believe he did kill Yukio to some extant. But I don't think that he accomplished all the other deeds. I think the man had help. He was only human after all. No matter how strong you get a human does have limits. Somewhere he got help, I _know _he did and all I want to know is why you have chosen to ignore them and leave them out completely." Her eyes narrowed slightly as if daring him to tell her other wise.

Kiyoshi kept a level face, trying to hold back a triumphant grin. _Oh, you do not know how close you are to finding out the truth yourself! _He stilled his thoughts and folded his arms in his purple robes.

"Do you realize what you are saying? You are putting doubt and suspicion in to our most precious and sacred beliefs!" Hikari switched her gaze from quizzical to fiery. "Yes, I'm aware. But I believe these things should be answered. It's almost as if you aren't even telling me the _true _story.

He smirked. _Not even a moment of hesitation. She really doesn't care if it is seen as wrong in other's eyes, she just wants the truth, and she'll get it no matter the cost. _His gaze flickered across Hikari's determined eyes and crossed arms, weighing the options of the situation in his mind before taking action.

"Hm…I think you are ready Hikari. To know just what really happened. You are very right to suspect such things. I think that now, you can handle the truth, the whole truth…" She looked up at him sharply. _I was right…there is more going on with our ancestry than they would tell me. I've wondered about this for so long…but why have they lied to me my entire life? Were they protecting me from something….until I was ready to face it? _

"If you want the answers follow…or if you are content with how things are you may stay…either way I think I would fancy a stroll…." Kiyoshi smiled that mysterious smile and stepped lightly down the steps and along the beautiful garden path that lead into the woods. His purple robes lightly billowing like flags in the darkening light.

_What! It's nearly sundown and he's going for a walk in the woods! I thought he was afraid of the dark, that unspeakable evils would try to get his soul. Whatever this is it must be big in order for him to be going out…either that or he has finally cracked…_

Hikari followed her thoughts carefully. Watching the shrinking violet back skeptically, the answer was simple. Follow. His wacky behavior was worth following even if he was pulling her leg. Who knew what he was going to pull out of those overly large sleeves. Though a part of her seriously didn't think he was joking. She let out a sigh. _Here goes nothing…_Hardly a jump and sprint later she had entered the woods and caught up with her grandfather.


	2. Dark History

She knew instantly by the turns he was making where they were going in the heavily wooded area. The trail alone was nothing more than a slightly worn path in the undergrowth with a few tricky stones thrown in. Not something you really wanted to walk on. Let alone run. Hikari could still remember when she had brought home a small and very cheap portable radio. Her grandfather had gone ballistic when he found it. He considered all things modern blasphemous. It had taken her grandmother Sakura nearly a year when they were married to convince him to get running water and modern day bathroom facilities.

Hikari had had to run along this path for hours while giving her grandfather a piggyback ride. He is no small man by any means, a lean build sure, but he stood at 6' 4 inches, while she on the other hand barely made it up to 5' 5 inches. Not fun by any stretch of the imagination.

In order for her to keep the radio she had to go through 3 weeks of extensive and extreme spiritual trials. The running, waterfall meditation, the memorization of hundreds of sutras, fudas, and history, and not too mention the vigorous workout he gave her with the weapons.

Learning how to use a weapon well was almost a law in the Yasahiromuto family. You had to at _least_ master one weapon well enough to defend yourself against what? Ten opponents at once and still be ready to face ten more. Not something that Hikari was at all very good at.

She didn't like the swords, Jittes, Pudaos, Naginatas, katanas, daggers, knifes, knumb chucks, Tantos, Shirkens, Daos, throwing stars, staffs, Bos, bows and arrows, or the various poisons. That leaves…pretty much nothing doesn't it?

The only things that she could handle were the Chinese fans and Sias. The metal fan was just a last resort and something fun to throw off her grandfather for whenever she pulled it out. Come on, how hard is it to wield a fan? When in doubt just chuck the thing at them or hit them, either way it'll be even to get a head start.

The Sias were her, you could say, forte, but just barely. It was the only weapon she had just skimmed by with. Hell, the only reason they passed her to begin with was because the blades had slipped right out of her hands and had almost impaled her grandfather through the forehead. He had told her that when her skills failed to kill her enemy her clumsiness un-doubtable would take care of the job for her.

All in all, it was completely pointless in Hikari's mind, not to mention very painful. Why bother? Her family acted like they would be attacked at any moment. Jumping at sudden noises and peering suspiciously into foreign hedges, almost certain that the world's best ninjas were going to start some Kung Fu action at any given moment.

But for what reason? The only thing valuable that they possessed was the ancient fuda and it was as her grandfather had said. _No one_ remembered what had happened all those years ago. Not a soul. So it stood to good reason no one would be coming after the fuda.

Of course no one even knew where they lived. Hikari had to walk 4 miles everyday just to get to the nearest place that the bus would come pick her up and the way that she had to go through had absolutely no roads. Just trails as bad as the ones around the shrine. Plus after 600 years you would think that the fuda would be nothing but dust now wouldn't you? Nothing worth stealing.

Kiyoshi and Hikari walked in silence for a time. Letting the night's music fill their ears and the slowly fading light play one last dance upon the rich green leaves and vegetation that grew all around them. Untamed and exactly the way Mother Nature intended.

After a few moments of gazing at the amazing scenery that they found themselves in Kiyoshi looked over to his granddaughter. "You were right to think that Takeshi wasn't powerful enough to do everything that he did. He did have help. Actually he had a lot of help."

Hikari looked up from her sneakers. Had she heard him right? After all of these years was he finally telling her how things were? "From who? And why have you kept this information from me for all of these years? Why didn't you just tell me instead of leaving it out for me to wonder about later?"

He smiled as their walk continued. "You've been thinking about it for some time. That's good. It means you know how to think in times of war and you're sharp with detail, though a little slow with asking the questions." He added the last remark with a careless shrug but barely hid the playful smirk.

Hikari ignored the insult with a simple eye roll. Her grandfather couldn't give someone a compliment without dishing out one of their faults as well. But it was livable, sort of like taking the good with the bad.

"What about the help? Who was it? Come on don't leave me in the dark like you've been doing most of my life." Kiyoshi glanced down at her expectant face. Her index finger absently twirling the ring on her left hand, a habit no one could break.

"First of all you must understand that we left out this information for a very good reason. The true explanation that happened back then is just too much for those who are not ready to handle it. Also if you don't see that something was wrong with the story to begin with then you don't deserve to know the truth. That is how we have always chosen the next priest for the temple. You have to earn it through your mind, not your strength or spiritual understanding."

"Who ever finds out the secret first shall have the honor of protecting it and taking responsibility for it. If there are siblings they can chose to stay or they may seek their lives somewhere else. They are not to be told."

"But if someone doesn't realize the truth when they are the only members of the family then we must look else where for someone to continue the tradition. So far that has not yet happened."

During this explanation the two had come out of the woods and were now standing beside a gorgeous lake laced with rich blossoms of astounding color that the light of the stars only seemed to enhance instead of diminish.

Kiyoshi strolled gracefully over to his favorite stone bench, directly beside the waterfall. It was so close that small water droplets would fall into his gray and receding hair. Making it glimmer like a spider's web covered in dew in the early morning.

Hikari took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the place before she joined her grandfather. Her dark almost blue purple hair reaching the seat and swayed delicately across the stone as she turned her head to look over at him, quietly waiting for answers.

Kiyoshi smiled softly at their reflections in the crystal water. "This is the spot where Takeshi fought Yukio and won. This lake is his final resting place." Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Here! But I thought it was at the temple!"

He glanced over at the waterfall and then down to his entwined fingers. "No…the spiritual power here is too immense. We could never have built a simple temple over this place. Can't you feel it? The energy? Almost as if a breath of warm wind was blowing across your skin, yet much softer." He gazed around the lake, the fireflies reflecting in his warm eyes.

"I know you come here often so you must feel it. The power that was used to kill Yukio all those years ago was so great that traces of it have never left. But it is a strange energy. You can not feel it unless you are here." He looked thoughtfully over at a large boulder near his right as if it held the answers to this strange occurrence.

Hikari shifted away from her reflection. _That isn't true…I can feel it even when I'm in the city…it's over whelming…sometimes I can't even breath when I come here. Like a power is trying to find me…to become a part of me…_ The energy of this place didn't feel like a soft, warm wind. It felt electric, intense. Sometimes she felt like she was a sock just come out of a dryer. Just clinging to the soil here, unable to move for hours.

The first time this had happened was when she was six years old. A day like any other, she was up to her usually tricks, skipping her lessons and generally doing what any other six year old would do.

Hikari remembered running down the same path she had come down earlier alone. Trying to get escape from Sakura and her wrath after she found out that Hikari had been the one who had put the frog in her bed.

Laughing at her newly accomplished deed and out of breath she had come upon the lake. It happened almost like an accident. One moment she was running down familiar paths and the next she was here. It was just as beautiful then as it was now.

She didn't know why her family had never shown her this place. There was nothing wrong with it, a fun place to play even. Sakura's angry yells seemed to get fainter and fainter as Hikari started chasing stray butterflies around the edge of the pool. Thoughts of her grandmother's punishment long gone with a new game to play, why worry? This was fun and by the time she grew bored Sakura will have cooled down enough for her to get off with a light tongue-lashing.

She spun faster and faster to catch up to the delicate wings. Enjoying the warm sun and chatter that the birds were keeping up. Nothing could go wrong in her little play world. If there were danger she would simply become a knight, ready to defend her kingdom from dragons and witches. Or call for her brave tigress to swallow the nasty trolls. No, nothing could touch her here. Nothing at all, or so she thought.

Hikari had just caught the small blue insect and was basking in her triumph when a cold hand seemed to grip her. She froze, shaking, this feeling, it was as if death were whispering in her ear. It was awful, full of loathing and _sin._

Chills went up and down her spine as the wind started howling and grew colder with every passing second. Odd, hadn't it been warm just a few seconds ago? Her six-year-old mind couldn't comprehend the weather change. All it said was that something bad was about to happen. Things were wrong with her play world. But she couldn't become the knight or summon her tigress.

Something wasn't right. Warning bells were going off in her mind and an unknown force taunted her to glance down. She looked were the force directed her, to her barely closed fist. The butterfly.

Her fingers uncurled around the butterfly but it did not fly. Instead she watched the limp body fall to the ground. It squirmed there; it's legs kicking erratically. Dieing.

Hikari took a few startled steps back and looked around her quickly, her eyes darting around her once wonderful surroundings.

The forest which had seemed so peaceful and full of life leered out at her sinisterly and had grown as quiet as a fresh grave. Flowers and trees lost their color and assumed the veil that only death is privileged to. It seemed that she was the only living creature in this world. Utterly alone.

Her world had shattered leaving her completely open to fear and apprehension. The little girl couldn't speak, the art of making words seemed to just disappear and her throat constricted painfully. But something worse than the loose of speech was tugging at her. A prickling began at her back, like that sensation that you're being watched. Shivers cascaded up and down her spine, that feeling going into over drive. Something was just behind her, waiting.

Using every ounce of her strength she turned around slowly. There was the lake. But it was no longer water that filled the depths. Hikari let out a gasp, the most her throat could accomplish and her dark brown eyes grew wide, unbelieving. It was blood. Deep crimson blood washed upon the grass like waves. Where there had been clear, clean water now rippled the thick substance. The once elegant waterfall was spilling gallons of the sticky liquid, like an open and gushing wound.

But the thing that would haunt Hikari's dreams for the rest of her life, the thing that gave her enough fear to tear her throat apart to scream, and the only thing that has ever truly frightened her stared back at her from soulless black eyes.

In the middle of the lake a bubbling, frothing mass was emerging. At first she couldn't see what the shape was that was materializing and to be honest she didn't want to know. She had to get away.

Though for the life of her she couldn't get her numb legs to work. They refused simple orders and became solid granite. Weighing her down into the decaying grass. Her eyes looked about desperately. No escape or help seemed to appear. Against her wishes her glistening eyes glanced back to the cauldron like mixture. The mass was moving toward her and taking form.

Hair broke the surface first. Hikari almost couldn't tell what it was; it was the exact same color as the red that stained the ground before her. Wet and dripping it emerged. The longer bangs spiking out, framing the mass's face while the shorter bangs hung dangerously across white skin.

As the blood dripped down the pale forehead she saw two sable eyes boring into her. They seemed to see through her into the very core of her being. Slowly the eyes rose up from the tainted waters and she could make out a face; it would have been handsome if he hadn't been wearing a mask so full of hate.

The man appeared to be walking along the bottom of the lake. His body swaying slightly with his long strides, stalking through the crimson depths didn't even seem to be as difficult for him as taking a stroll across the green. He was quickly closing the gap between them, his toned shoulders well above the surface of the liquid, and there was nothing Hikari could do to stop him. All she could do was try to control her shaky breathing and fight back this overwhelming tide of fear.

He was only a few feet away from her. His muscular chest bare, ruby lines flowing down his pale skin in a grotesque form of spirals and shapes as he stepped clear of the water. His long red hair fell in a showering sheet from his head, a proud achievement worthy of any high school cheerleader. The demon's pants clung to his form, dripping the liquid upon the dying grass. Everything he touched seemed to whither and fade.

She seemed to watch entranced as his reprobate eyes drove hungrily into her own. It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Well, if that was true than his soul was bottomless, foul, tortuous, and made up of every nightmare imaginable.

Unable to move, she watched helplessly as he stalked closer to her. Like a predator enjoying the helplessness of its prey.

"_Hikari…Hikari…"_

Those malignant lips spoke her name, making it seem foul and sinful. This _demon_ stopped just before the small child. Enjoying the fear he caused her. Basking in her pure terror.

He circled the girl, his eyes flickering to see every angle of her. As the circle became complete the smirk he had been wearing curled larger, showing pointed fangs. His pleasure in her was not hidden in the slightest but made more apparent by the slightly glazed look that had come into his treacherous eyes.

"_Oh…how I have longed to meet you…Hikari….I've been….watching you for some time… I find you…perfect…in everyway…I need you…as you need me…you were mine the moment you were born…So you can't escape me…embrace the darkness…for that…not the light…is your true destiny…"_

His voice was odd, as if this were his first time breathing and speaking at the same time and it sounded like a polished diamond, smooth and hard all at once. Added to this his voice sounded distant, as if he were at the bottom of a deep well or pit.

He reached out his hand toward her, longing for the feel of her flesh. The dried blood was like some kind of morbid tattoo over his clawed fingers. "_Come with me…."_

Hikari watched, petrified as those deadly white fingers crept closer to her face. She tried to scream but to no avail. The wail would rise up through her body but become lodged in her throat. All the while that putrid hand was getting closer. _Help…someone….mom…dad….please help me…he's hurting me…help…_ Tears were beginning to fall down her face. She could see torn flesh under those fingernails as he came nearer.

The salty water that flowed down her face only seemed to enhance the demon's desire for her. He took another step forward, eyes malevolent, drinking her in, slowly absorbing her whole being.

Those dead fingers gently brushed Hikari's cheek and the moment they made contact a trigger seemed to go off in her. Her dulled and locked up senses broke free like a river from a dam. Rushing responses and signals to her brain. Issuing orders to her frozen body and doing the thing it had been taught since the dawn of time. Survive.

With a glass-shattering scream she pulled away from the man and lashed out at him with her right hand. She stumbled back with the force of her swing, a bit too powerful, and away from this creature of pure darkness.

Amazingly she need not have stuck him. The moment he had just grazed her skin his hand had shot back, burning and red. He held his quickly blackening fist against his chest. She could hear the sizzling flesh as it roasted off his bones.

His gaze was now racked with irate wrath. The demon looked to his burning hand and then down to the little girl on the ground. The message in his eyes need not be spoken. To say he was a little bit P.Oed was an understatement. The actions Hikari had taken were not going to be tolerated in the slightest.

"_I **will **have you Hikari! No one can save you and no amount of prayers can either. Say goodbye to your precious family you love so much. For soon all will be gone and then nothing will have you. Only I will. STOP RESISTING!"_

"NO!"

The scream seemed to tear itself right out of her throat. Full-fledged fury contorted her face into a glare and her nails bit into her balled fists. She had no idea where this was coming from. It left her raw and shaky and yet, somehow stronger.

But that was quickly fading as the most poisonous laugh she had ever heard erupted from his mouth. Cold and sharp like a knife blade it rang through the clearing, cutting off her hope and dispelling her new found courage.

"…_heh heh….such spirit my Hikari has…but I think I can change your mind…" _

He took another step forward tauntingly, his eyes growing with lust but stopped short. His gaze shifted to an area beyond her right. Icy orbs flickered back over to her. Whatever it was clearly upset him.

Taking a few more glances between the two points he seemed to come to a decision. The demon smiled sadistically at her before he began walking backwards, keeping his eyes fixed solely on her.

Quickly he was swallowed in the red waves that licked his flesh, welcoming him back. But just before he disappeared completely in the crimson tides she saw his eyes and knew without words what he was telling her.

"…_.We'll meet again my Hikari…and then we'll be together….forever…."_

Cold swept through her body and froze the air, raged breaths racked her lungs, tears spilled without pause down her silent cheeks, and her whole body shook like she was sitting on a dryer. Hikari was consumed in fear. A fear that she had never experienced before, it was beyond screams or thought. It left her alone, detached from what was real. Casting her aside like a forgotten toy to be found later, worn, torn, and unrecognizable years afterward.

Being so wrapped up in this other world, Hikari didn't even hear the voices that were calling her name. Desperately searching for her. Even when her mother ran to her and threw her arms around the shaking girl, Hikari still didn't register that there was another presence. She just continued staring, emotionless, to where the demon had disappeared.

Her grandparents ran up to her, Kiyoshi saying a few hurried prayers while throwing sutras and fudas all over the place. Sakura just smacked him and quickly fell beside Gina, asking questions that Hikari could not hear or respond to even if she had the will.

It was not until her father gently picked her up that Hikari came back to the real world. When she was lifted off the ground and brought up to see his dark brown eyes it was like being hit by a truck.

So full of concern and an emotion that didn't remind her of the darkness that she had been in. The contrast was so profound. She did the only thing she could; she clung to him for her life and blacked out, her body not being able to handle the emotional stress.

Hikari had awoken three days later in her room. She couldn't recall anything that had happened before she fainted. But her family knew and took pains to keep her away from the lake. That didn't work though, always something called her back and she'd return. Though she never saw the demon again.

It wasn't until a month later that Hikari remembered what had happened that day. It always came as a nightmare, those soulless eyes longing for her in the dark. Even after years of the dream she always awoke in a cold sweat, scared out of her mind, and in tears.

She was terrified of the man. Fear was not something she lived with. Hikari had a reputation of not being scared of anything. Her grandfather even as wise and old as he was had a fear of snakes and so it was she who got rid of them while he stood on a chair sweating. But he was the one thing that got to her. The one thing that made her look over her shoulders during the day and keep her lights on at night.

Yet no matter how much he scared her she was intrigued by him. She couldn't stay away from the lake. It called to her. The power of the place and the memory of him walked with her wherever she went. Don't get her wrong; she wasn't infatuated with the guy. She was just drawn.

The blood never came back to the lake which she was thankful for and it looked as innocent as ever. When she got the courage to question her family about that day they said they had found her standing in the grass, petrified and screaming about blood. Though the clearing wasn't at all in any way different from what it had always been.

They tried to ask her about what had happened that day. But Hikari refused to answer. Whenever asked why she had been found screaming that afternoon she would totally shut down. Becoming mute and deaf until the subject was changed or dropped. To not talk about it made it seem like it had never happened. Denial. Even though it hardly worked.

Hikari believed what had happened that day to be real. She knew it but she was unable to communicate this with her family. They would have all gone of their rockers. Making her do extra purifying techniques and warding evil spirits that didn't even exist away from her. They would never really understand the way she felt.

Sometimes she wished that she had someone. Just someone like her, more her age that she could tell these things to. But that was like wishing for a wet match to work. Futile. Who could she find to talk about demons that longed for her night and day? Who would understand her? Who could she tell her nightmares to? Who could comfort and understand her in a way that her family could not?

Hikari shook her head to quiet the memories of this place. _Why did that have to happen? What did he want with me?_ She had asked herself these questions and many more hundreds of times but she was no closer to the answers than she had been the day she had met the demon.

_Maybe that's what my feelings are about. Maybe I'm sensing that he's coming back…coming back to take me like he couldn't 10 years ago. Heh, if that's true, screw this place, I'm getting on the next train to Tokyo. _Hikari let a sad smile break across her face at these thoughts, knowing that they somehow weren't true.

_But somehow I don't think that's it…the feeling isn't bad…sometimes when it comes…it's like….oh…I don't know….like honey…warm and sweet…it just leaves me with a smile…I doubt that thing I saw could generate that kind of feeling….so yes….it must be something different…but what? _

Kiyoshi had watched Hikari through her reflection and could almost see her fear's story unfold in her eyes. What ever had happened that day had scared her for life. The innocent little girl never returned or at least not in the way they remembered her. She still played her tricks and laughed but behind those eyes she was truly afraid and alone. Despite their best efforts they couldn't comfort her, at least not in the way that she needed.

In a way it seemed she almost didn't trust them anymore. They didn't and couldn't save her from what had happened that day and because of that she didn't want them to save her now. She needed someone else. But amazingly, Hikari didn't dwell on her fear; by herself she overcame it and pushed it aside seemingly coming to terms that she wouldn't let it run her life for her.

_She has astounding resilience against evil. Any other person might have become bitter or forever maimed from what she went through but in the end her light shined and lead her through…_

Kiyoshi bowed his head thoughtfully. "I think my explanation about what happened all those years ago might help you understand what happened here…" _Hell…it might even help me…_

Hikari blinked. That was a thought. It might even give her the name of the man with the red hair. "You won't leave out anything?" She glanced over at him, her hair falling lightly over her cheek. Her grandfather smiled. "Of course not. When I'm done you can decide if you want to believe me or not. You can also decide if this is truly the life you want to lead…"

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Leave? Why-" He cut her off gently, moving her hair from her face as he spoke. "I have had a feeling that with you this way of life for our family will end. You are of course the last Yasahiromuto, it's all up to you."

The teenager looked down to her shoes. _True…I can accept this or not…being the last…I'll hear the truth first…then decide…later…_

Kiyoshi studied his granddaughter. She was the hardest of the family to read. Very annoying at times especially when she never really let anyone into her personal life to begin with. Of course he was her 60-year-old grandfather, and not the first person you share boy troubles with.

"Are you ready?" Hikari looked back up to Kiyoshi and nodded, curiosity eating away at her stomach.

Her grandfather looked straight ahead staring intently at something from long ago in his own past that she could not see. _Maybe the day his father told him the truth about our past? _Hikari adjusted her sitting position, fixing herself so she had a clear view of Kiyoshi, and strained her ears waiting for this storyteller to work his magic.

"It all started around the time Takeshi was 14. He was just completing his training for becoming a monk; the youngest ever recorded. Takashi had immense spiritual awareness. He could even see some things that normal people could not. This is how he was able to graduate so quickly."

"As I said before, he was on his way to the temple, hurrying along the garden path to get to the ceremony when he was stopped by a cloaked figure in the garden. The figure asked if he could spare Takeshi a moment of his time. Now Takeshi was already late but being virtues he agreed to the cloaked figure's request and sat with him by the small stream that flowed in the back garden of the shrine."

"The figure spoke to him and Takeshi registered that he was talking to a female. _Please sir all I ask of you is to meet with my employer tomorrow in the clearing to the north of here. _Now Takashi hearing the kindness in the woman's voice agreed to her request thinking that her employer must be sick and there fore unable to come to the temple. (Note: People who are sick or injured were not allowed to enter the premises of a temple or shrine. Those things were considered impure. So if you're dieing and want to pray one last time at the temple sorry pal you're screwed.) With a courteous bow he left the woman and went to the ceremony where we both know he became a monk."

"Now the next day Takeshi did as promised and met the woman in the clearing. There she was as she said. Though she had discarded the cloak. He saw with astonishment that the woman had light blue hair and round pink eyes. Her kimono also matched her eyes. Not a wonder why she had worn the cloak, people would think her an ill omen if she were to walk around like that."

"Takeshi looked around for the man who had asked for his services. But saw no one but the woman. _Where is your employer? _He asked the woman kindly. She seemed to jump a little. _Eh? Oh, yes! I'm sorry! This is very rude of me. I'm Botan. The Grim Reaper, pleased to make your acquaintance!" _

"_Grim reaper? What?_ Botan looked over at him smiling, cheerful as ever. _Bingo! You probably have a lot of questions right now so I'll do my best to answer them. The woman you talked with last night is a coworker of mine and we both are guides to the river stixs. As of the moment we're waiting so you may talk with our boss Lord Koenma, prince of Spirit World." _

Kiyoshi glanced down to his right. "Takeshi did exactly the same thing you did just now." Hikari looked up from the ground. She had literally fallen over with surprise at this bit of information. The ground now had a nice little dent in it from her sudden impact and it was getting even with her by staining her denim pants a nice dark green.

"River Styx's? Spirit World? Koenma? What in world is she talking about!" Kiyoshi chuckled. "The same questions that he asked as well. Here let me explain. I told you the truth wasn't easy."

For the next hour Kiyoshi filled Hikari in on the four worlds and their individual roles. The differences between Demonic and Spirit energy, the barrier that was set up between the Human and Demon world, the tournament that had ended the barrier, and all the knick knacks in between.

Hikari took it all in slowly. It was hard to just dispel years of belief in one night. Added to that the fact that demons were real and thriving today, her soul was taken to another world ruled by a guy named Koenma, and there were once guys running around calling themselves Spirit Detectives who protected mankind.

She kept waiting for Kiyoshi to break out in a grin and scream Fooled YA! That this was all some elaborate scheme of his. Though in other ways it was sort of a relief to finally know what was going on and this explanation fit everything. It made total sense.

Kiyoshi stretched, rolling his shoulders tiredly as he fought back sleep. "I think that is about all there is to know about the worlds. Now it's time for me to fill in the blanks and add the necessary details." He glanced out of the corner of his eye as Hikari stifled a yawn with her hand. "Or maybe we'll continue this in the morning."

Hikari rubbed the sand man's latest work out of her eyes. "No, you've already started and I'm not going to sleep unless I hear the entire story."

Kiyoshi shrugged and looked thoughtfully up at the night sky. "Now where did I leave off?" The teenager stretched like a lounging cat on the grass. "Takeshi was just about to meet Koenma."

The old man jabbed his index finger into the air, recollection swimming in his eyes. "Ah! Yes. Well, we'll skip unwanted dialogue and I'll tell the summarized storyteller's version." Kiyoshi caught the disproving and venomous look aimed his way from Hikari. "Eh…Don't worry. No details will be missed. I just think we should both be in our beds before sunrise."

Kiyoshi cradled his chin between his thumb and index finger, staring intently down at the grass. "Now. The reason that Lord Koenma asked to speak with Takeshi was because he had a proposition for him. He asked that Takashi help him and Spirit World with keeping the peace in the Human realm. Sort of like the first experimental spirit detective. In exchange Takeshi would be taught how to better hewn his spiritual power and even use it as a weapon against his opponents. But only when working for the Spirit Realm was he to use these abilities."

"He of course excepted and spent the next 6 years working for Spirit World, slowly gathering his strength until it knew almost no bounds. His power was the ability to create a large orb of purifying light. He could thrown, kick, or even explode the orb, causing the power to be unleashed in a radius of his desire. Mainly depending on how powerful the specific orb was. He could also channel this power into individual fudas."

Hikari propped herself up on her elbows. Already pieces were starting to come together. Kiyoshi closed his eyes lightly, his free hand tracing the outline of the design on his robe distractedly. "Now in his sixth year of working for Koenma a monstrous thing happened. A powerful demon known as Yukio had gathered a strong demon army under his will. He was bent on taking the Human world as his own and he would start right here in Japan."

The girl raised a questionable eyebrow. "I thought you said that there was a barrier around the human world to prevent things like this from happening." Her grandfather glanced her way through half open eyes. Amused he replied, "Good you were listening. The barrier can only keep level A-S class demons out. B and below may come through without too much trouble."

She caught her breath. _B and below! What was he thinking? The human world can't defend against demons that powerful! _ Kiyoshi closed his eyes with an amused smile. "I bet you think Koenma is an idiot for letting that happen, right? Well, he's not. He's got something that keeps those demons from even thinking about it. They are called The Spirit Defense Force, or SDF. Class A spirit beings."

_So he's not so dumb after all. _Hikari lowered her head back down to the grass, picking out constellations as she waited impatiently for the story to continue. "Now Yukio had gathered literally thousands of demons to his cause, all being B and below as they could get through the barrier. But Yukio himself was above A. How strong no one really knows but that was about as good a guess as any of us could make."

"Yukio's plan was to send in the army all at once so that they could overrun Japan and get a head start on taking the world. While the demons caused havoc he acquired the assistance of a very powerful amulet. It allowed one soul to pass through to the human world on a night when the moon disappeared."

"The night of the new moon." Hikari responded absently, it was clever really. A night with no light to sneak into a world not of your own while your minions terrorized the hillsides, concealing your arrival until the last possible second.

Kiyoshi glanced at her slightly surprised. "Yes. With the amulet he was able to get access into the human world but he was bodiless. His soul would be lost if he did not find a body to inhabit quickly. So he entrusted that to his most faithful servant, an ingenious creature with a strange taste in humor. It was in this way the Yukio came to the human world in the perfect disguise."

"Koenma meanwhile was overrun with demons. There were too many for his SDF and for Takeshi. Working together they were able to keep the deaths from rising but there were always demons coming through in fresh waves while they were being drained of all their resources and energy. Also rumor grew in the south of a strange human who had unnatural powers and a taste for blood. His long red hair matching the color of his victims' blood perfectly and his soulless black eyes were vastly famous. Yukio was growing in power."

Hikari's heart seemed to stop. Had she heard him right? Red hair, black eyes. It was like getting slapped in the face. It all made sense. The reason why he had emerged from the lake, the blood, the power she felt, the reason he wanted her. It had to be for revenge against Takeshi for killing him. He wanted to inflict the pain he couldn't on Takashi in her instead. The man she saw was Yukio, an extremely powerful demon that her ancestor had given his life to kill.

A deep whelming hole began forming in her stomach. Leaving her raw and empty. How could she have been so stupid as to not realize that it was Yukio who plagued her mind? She felt completely vulnerable now. At least before she didn't know who the person was so she wasn't sure if she could defeat him or not but now, that hope was lost. She could never win against him, even if it was just his spirit and memory that tortured her mind.

A sense of desperation filled her and unconsciously she moved a little closer to Kiyoshi. Seeking a form of protection in even the smallest things. Though it didn't go unnoticed. He saw her trouble features and frowned. He had had a hunch that Yukio was the one who haunted her. Though the sutras he put outside her room seemed to do nothing to help her fear. Frowning Kiyoshi started up his tale again.

"Koenma decided that the only way to get rid of their problem was to destroy the source. They had to kill Yukio. No matter the cost. Once he died, order and organization would fall. Leaving the remaining demons in disarray and easy to take care of."

"It was decided that Takeshi, being the strongest, would travel to Tokuwa were it was said Yukio was heading. Planning to crush the last rebelling town that stood even a chance against his armies."

"As you know it was in vain that Takeshi went. The village was destroyed. But from it Takeshi grew stronger. His anger and sadness at the loss of Tokuwa fueled him, driving him to a new level of power. He was able to destroy all the demons that Yukio sent to murder him."

"Takeshi knew that in order to kill Yukio he would have to give all of his energy, life and spirit. So he planned an attack that would eradicate them both beyond a doubt. Thus he created a fuda known as the Scroll of Heart's Desire. It works very simply. Takeshi created the necessary kanji for it and at the moment of his death put every once of his energy into the scroll while at the same time wishing for his heart's desire. Which was to kill Yukio and his evil. You can think of it as a very powerful genie lamp."

"It worked but it also came with a price. In the explosion of power from the fuda they were both killed. Also not all of the power that Takeshi gave the Scroll was used. A great quantity was still inside the scroll. Just waiting for the proper words to be spoken to unleash it."

"It was hypothesized that whoever said the words would be given enough power to grant his heart's desire. No matter what it was. But the scroll could only do this once. After that no matter how small the request, Takeshi's power would be gone. Many tried to open the power but none succeeded. The way in which to activate it had been lost with Takeshi. It was decided in the end that Yasahiromuto's family would protect the Scroll until a way was found to tap into the energy. Until then it would be protected. The amount of power in the fuda was too dangerous to fall into enemy hands and they would take no risks with it. So it was placed here, and that has been our way of life for the last 600 years. Many of us have tried to unleash the power but we have all failed."

Kiyoshi sat silently for a few seconds, regaining his voice before speaking. "Now you know the truth. It's up to you to decide what you want to do Hikari. You may stay and protect the Scroll or you may leave. It's your decision."

Hikari sat up from her position in the grass, her brows furrowed. To her the answer to his question was obvious. "Kiyoshi-chan…"

"Hehehe….Allow us to make that decision for you!" Kiyoshi and Hikari both sprang up alarmed, spinning wildly to locate the intruder. All that met their eyes was the deepening darkness and a snicker on the wind.

Without hesitating Kiyoshi pulled out a short, thick oak stick from his robes and with a simple flick of his wrist had it transformed into the familiar shape of a long Bo. His glance was steely as his eyes swept over their surroundings, trying to locate the exact location of the laughter, finding in it nothing but pure evil. "Show yourself, demons!"


	3. Awaken

Quick Author's note: I've realized that's it's been a long time since I've updated….and this is actually the first time I've spoken to any of you….heh….Sorry about that…I somehow always forget to put these things up. Any who, thanks so much for reading this, just knowing that someone out there is taking time to skim over my work makes the warm fuzzes dance with glee. Thank you so much for the people who have reviewed, I appreciate it. It helps me know I'm sort of not sucking at this writing gig. Alrighty on to the boring disclaimer part. I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or it's characters. (But I believe they should make a sequel...XD) The only things I do own are the original plot, storyline, and all the characters that appear that makes everybody else do the question mark face. Yep, with that aside, onward to the story! Huzzah!

The order was sharp and a kind of edge had crept into his voice. It was so very unlike her grandfather's usually calm and cheerful voice. Something was defiantly wrong here.

Hikari now wished she had brought her sias instead of her fan with her. She flurried it out from the front pocket in her sleeveless black hodie. Holding it just in front of her with strained fingers, the metal gleaming against the white of the moon perfectly.

From the trees directly beside the path stepped about twenty odd demons. They chuckled sinisterly as their eyes took in the two pathetic humans in front of them. An easy kill to be sure.

Hikari glared, her eyes running over each of the crudely made weapons they carried. These were the first real demons she had ever seen and so far she wasn't that impressed.

They reminded her of an old movie she had once seen on one of those rainy, boring afternoons. It had been called Attack of the Lizard Men or something to that effect. Normal people dressed in rather pathetic reptile costumes had run around like zombies. Terrorizing the town until the scientist who created them killed them with a vaccine or something to that effect.

The demons looked much like the lizard men, just much more real. Their mouths actually moved when they smirked and the scales that lined their bodies came in a variety of sickening colors that seemed to glisten like wet pebbles in the starlight.

The teeth on these monsters were more convincing as well. Two rows of canines gleamed out at her and some even had a little blood splatter on the yellow fangs. Occasionally a split tongue would flash out, smelling the air, taking a few moments to run their tongues over their decaying teeth, before disappearing into the black hole of their mouths.

They dressed in wrinkled, brown leather pants and that was it. Their pointy, bony shoulders stuck out horribly and the nimble arms often had patches of scales missing. Most likely from a fight or scuffle or from the fact that their skin looked like it was rather dried out, causing the scales to come loose.

Their cat red eyes leered out at them, already glazed over in blood lust. Some in the back of the group were already scrabbling over who got the right to get first dibs on Kiyoshi's staff.

Kiyoshi took a moment to scrutinize the group before he lowered his staff ever so slightly. Apparently they weren't as dangerous as he had first suspected and they might be smart enough to talk out of a confrontation. "What do you want here? This is not your territory. It would be wiser for you all to just leave now, peacefully." The smallest of the demons stepped forward; apparently he was the one in charge. Though it was kinda ironic, the others looked like them just sitting on him would be enough to do the little guy in.

"We only came for a bit of fun…" He took a moment to flick his tongue over near Hikari, seeming to like the taste of the air around her. The demon smirked wolfishly as she raised her fan a little higher in warning, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Heheh…that one will be a lot of fun…" He raised a scaly brow mockingly as Kiyoshi took a few steps closer toward the teenager. His Bo and eyes trained on the leader daringly.

"Now don't get your panties in a bunch grandpa. We heard rumors of something powerful here. A scroll. And listening to your story I think we've made the right choice to come here. Of course it wasn't easy…this place is well hidden. Especially with all those sutras and seals you put around the perimeter of this mountain. But a simple knife is all it took and here we are, our days of wandering through these cursed woods finally paying off."

He fingered his saber fondly. "And now we have two weak humans along with the scroll…ah could it get any better?" The group behind him chuckled menacingly, even throwing in a few cat calls their way. He basked in the growls of his comrades, tilting his head slightly in mock superiority as he replied casually. "What do you say boys? Kill these two, take turns raping the girl's dead body and then go claim the scroll as our prize?" The demons shouted out their grunts of approval, getting themselves in a frenzy at the very thought of the course of action.

"Hikari, be ready, remember everything I taught you about fighting. We must not let them get the scroll. Kill as many as you can but if it becomes too much for you I want you to run to the temple. Protect the scroll no matter what and wait for my return. Understood?"

Kiyoshi said all of this without taking his eyes off the throng of monsters before them. Hikari knew now was not the time to argue with her grandfather, so she resigned herself to a nod, disliking the very idea of running off and leaving him alone with these monsters. She placed her left leg behind her, bringing her right hand up sideways with the fan and her other hand out for balance, an easy fighting stance, more natural than most of the others.

The demons had stopped their laughing; noticing with annoyance the stances the humans had put themselves in. The leader, though, smirked, amused with their attempt at defending themselves. "So it's a fight you want…well then…that's what you'll get!" As if acting on cue the demons all attacked as one. Running break neck, their bloodlust mounting, they brought up their weapons, longing for the kill.

Hikari braced herself as the first demon, a bit leaner than the rest and obviously faster, got to her closing the gap between them with in milliseconds. It jumped up, bringing his sword down with a cry onto her head. Thinking fast she rushed forward, slashing out with her fan, mainly by instinct, at a demon just a few feet in front of her while spinning around to catch the one coming down across the chest. Her fan's blades had just enough power to cut through the tough hide of scales and most of the ribs, enough of an injury to keep them out of the game but not to kill them.

Blood splattered across her face and shirt, staining them like some kind of tribal war paint. Her hair whipped in front of her eyes as shards of bone and tissues soared through the sky. The metallic taste of blood was left on her lips as she caught her breath, adrenaline rushing through her veins and fueling her to new heights of gore and death.

Hikari dropped down low and rolled across the ground as her balance was disrupted from the fast spin. She really wasn't thinking about any of her next moves, just mainly trying to stay alive was her one goal in mind.

Barely missing a mace as it crushed the ground where her once unsteady feet had been standing she tumbled to her right. Rolling across the ground, missing spears and arrows she suddenly pounced up onto her knees, her fan closed, and thrust the metal into the gut of a particularly fat demon.

This was Hikari's first time fighting for real and so far she hadn't gotten herself killed, an achievement in itself. But there comes a time in any battle where your inexperience and lack of fighting skills is going to shine through. Hikari is no exception. In fact her little moment of Holy crap that was so stupid thought and consequence of getting killed was sooner to come than most peoples'.

Hikari jumped up, placing her foot behind her to get a better purchase on the soil as she tugged on the fan, trying to pull it out. She pulled on it, shaking it to try to get it free. But it remained firmly lodged in place. _Uh oh…_Two words that should never, ever, be thought in a fight.

She pulled on it as hard as she could but the fan refused to become evicted from its new home. Desperately Hikari placed her foot on the dying demon as he slumped to the ground, trying to use her leg to help pull the cursed thing out. Her eyes darted around; some of the demons had actually stopped their attack to watch what she would do but not all of them.

One of them was running at her, getting ready to impale her head with a nice long pike, his grin wide at the prospect of being the one to kill the human girl. What a friendly guy. Hikari saw the grin and quickly did the only thing she could. She ducked, hearing the whistling of the spear as it whizzed by her head, missing her by a hair.

Doing the first thing that came to her mind she decided on a course of action that might stall the demon before he could come in for another attack. Still in a crouch on the ground, she balled up her right fist and swung it as hard as she could, praying that it hit at least something.

It did. There was a sound like steam escaping and not one man there didn't grimace. Some even cupped themselves in sympathy as the pike-wielding demon dropped to his knees, holding himself while small tears slid down his oily cheeks.

Hikari didn't even pause to think over what she had just crushed and grabbed hold of the fan again. Tugging for all she was worth as about 5 demons started coming in for the kill, apparently very displeased with her for the humiliation she had just dished out for one of their comrades.

_Oh come on! Come on! Come on! Come out! _She took a glance around her. Two more feet and she'd be dead. With an aggravated shout of unintelligible words she kicked off of the demon with both of her feet. Giving in to this last ditch effort to free herself. Well, it worked. She did get free but she also lost her balance at a time when it was most crucial.

The sudden force of the fan freeing itself threw Hikari totally off guard, causing her to stumble backwards and fail her arms in a vain attempt to regain her balance. As gravity did its work she was aware of thinking of a few things while she fell backwards, neither of which were very cheerful. _That was smooth. Not only have I failed to protect the scroll, which they will surely get now but also I bet you I'll win a Darwin award! Yep I can see it now. Girl killed by gravity! _

Hikari wheeled backwards wildly, waiting for the inevitable impact of steel against flesh. But before the glistening metal could sink into her skin she landed right smack dab in to the middle of a large, sweaty chest.

Both she and her new crash dummy slammed in to the ground amid twisted limbs. Sliding a ways away from the other demons and almost into the lake. Hikari was aware of two things in that moment when their trip across the grass was done. One the belt this guy was wearing had long spikes in it and they were not the best things to have your lower back land on and two. The guy she had landed on was not at all happy that she had used him as her own personal pillow.

Large muscle groups moved beneath her and she barely had enough time to block a knife coming down on her stomach before a clawed hand threw her up off the ground and violently to the right. She once again crashed into another demon but managed to stay on her feet this time, but she didn't manage to dodge the dagger that was thrown her way.

It cut across her right shoulder, tearing through sinew and scraping along bone. Hikari grabbed her shoulder with a cry and wildly swung her fan at her attacker, amazingly catching him across the throat as the demon she had run into harshly shoved her off of him and into the shallows of the lake.

Hikari dove into the water, sliding a little ways along the muddy but soft bottom. The water was only a few inches deep but cool and refreshing. She groaned, tired of feeling like the world's largest, personal ping-pong ball and she sat up shakily, fanning out the metal blades while looking for the bastard who had thrown her in there.

She was a little more than mad at him, she was _pissed. _The last place in the world she ever wanted to be was in these waters. Some might think that having something that cold wash over your body would be nice in a fight but Hikari hated the lake for obvious reasons. She glanced around her self-consciously, the blood from her shoulder was slowly dripping into the water and ripples from her splash were still stretching out over the glassy surface.

"Aww… is the little girl scared?" The demon that had thrown her in smirked down at her before casting a glance around at the five other demons beside him. "Who wants to see the human get a bath!" Hikari seethed, supporting herself with her good arm while the others hooted and whistled.

The one who had thrown her in started stalking towards her, splashing through the shallows with a lecherous grin slapped on his face. He hadn't even bothered to get a weapon. Seeming content to just use his bare hands to kill her.

Hikari got to her feet, swaying slightly but ready to generally kick his ass. Her eyes were slits of disgust at the creature before her and she pulled back her fan ready to just throw it straight into his leering mouth. She never got the chance.

His progress through the waters had been a little slow and difficult. Apparently he was going through some kind of hole because the water went up to his waist but as he trudged through, the water got shallower and his grin got wider.

About four feet from Hikari he stopped short, staring at something just beyond her shoulder. His whole body started shaking and fear spilled from his eyes in the form of tears. He started screaming, running backwards before he tripped and landed in the hole, completely submerged.

She stared at the spot where the waters were bubbling and crashing wildly. Disappointment and confusion plastered on her face. _What on earth?_

Suddenly the demon broke through the surface, coughing and sputtering, flaying around for some kind of purchase. His companions were standing shocked and immobile on the shore staring past her as well, frightened out of their minds and one even lost control of his bodily functions as they looked on.

The demon looked down to the water he was in and screamed for all he was worth. Hikari also stared wide-eyed at the liquid around him. It was becoming the color of…

"BLOOD!" The lizard screamed, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he struggled out of the waters. Desperate for escape by any means how.

That tingling sensation she got was back. Oh, boy was it back. It had started very slight, only a faint prickle when they had entered the clearing and had slowly progressed through the night. She had ignored it like she usually did but now it was unbearable. Impossible to just shove to the back of her mind. It felt like her entire body had fallen asleep, the kind where it feels like knifes are pricking your flesh.

Nothing good could come of this and Hikari felt her stomach twist itself in knots as the thought of what could be scaring them erupted in her mind. She shuddered. _I've got to get out of here….._

It was then that Hikari felt something whiz by her ear. Fast and straight it flew past her and struck straight through the thrashing demon. Killing him instantly with the sleek blade of a katana.

The demon crumpled into the water, eyes still open, wide with astonishment. He flew into the shallow water, facedown into the thick mud. His fellows stared in horror as his life's blood began draining from him into the artic waters at a much faster rate than was normal. Hikari watched, fear gripping her heart as the blood was drained from the body and flowed by her like a serpent and then past her like at alarming speeds. Almost like it was _feeding _something behind her.

Arms shaking and heart racing Hikari slowly turned her head around, following the blood and searching. She couldn't help it; her limbs were not hers to control, like she was some kind of puppet on a string.

But what scared her most was that she _wanted _to look behind at that something that was calling her, clawing at her to look and see. But see what? Hoping against hope she wished she were wrong about what lay a few feet behind her.

Standing up to his waist in the waters stood Yukio, blood running down his naked chest and black eyes devouring her form. He was exactly as she remembered him. The same feelings she had felt that day 10 years ago returned on full blast. Rendering her helpless against this evil.

There were other feelings shaking her body besides fear, hate, disgust, and loathing. There was a lust and desire as well. She couldn't shake the heat that seemed to flow when his eyes traveled down her body. It annoyed and scared her. What was he doing to her?

He lifted his index finger to his mouth, licking away the blood there. It sent shivers up and down her spine. A sickening sensation was welling up in her stomach, pretty soon she was sure she going to be sick.

Yukio smiled lustfully down at her, taking his time to draw out her fear. Slowly he took a step forward, causing the water to send small waves in her direction. Keeping his eyes trained on her he closed the gap between them with steps that only took minutes to make but felt like hours to Hikari. He stood before her, their hips barely separated by a thin margin of icy water. She was trapped now, nowhere to run, no one to help, and no way out.

But a small voice in her head kept whispering. _Do you really want to escape? _Hikari pushed the voice away with an effort, her fear was numbing her, making even thoughts a difficult task to accomplish. _Of course I do…I want to get the hell out of here! _The voice chuckled, its laughter like a violin being played in a graveyard. _I don't think so! _

The repulsive creature gazed at her for a few seconds, drinking her in before reaching down to her shoulder, taking no time to dwell on words with her this go around; she knew why he was here. To finish what he had come to do years ago.

But his fingers stopped just above the knife wound, hesitantly. A glowing white light was emitting from the cut and he seemed to sizzle above it. He suddenly pulled his hand back fiercely, disappointment and fury twisting his face.

Hikari glanced to her shoulder, breaking away from his trance with an effort. A light was there and with it a little mobility seemed to reach her legs. She didn't know where it was coming from but it wasn't unwelcome. It was like a lighthouse to a lost ship out at sea. It called her home away from the storm and into the warm harbor. That's where she needed to be. Slowly she moved her right leg back, keeping her eyes trained on the light. Trying not to succumb to her fear.

A cold laugh split the air, stopping her right in her tracks. Her courage gave out at the sound of that laugh; it chilled her, making even breathing a difficult task. Yukio tapped his chin lightly; amused it seemed with her efforts to evade him.

"_Do you really think that pathetic light can stop me Hikari? You have no idea of the power I wield…" _

He leaned forward; glaring at the light, and with one breath blew across the wound. The light was snuffed out as an almost black force flew across it, distinguishing the pure radiance and Hikari's last hope. Her eyes stared disbelieving down at the bleeding gash, almost as if she could concentrate hard enough on the spot the light would appear again. But it remained dark, trickles of blood running down her white arm while goose bumps slid up and down her flesh.

Yukio shifted to the side so he came into her field of vision and lowered himself so that their eyes were level. Sacrificing his left hand he took a hold of her chin, his fingers burning like a poker as her face pretended to be the fire. Lifting her chin slightly, he stared into her eyes intently, dropping his hand quickly when her eyes became locked with his. Bits of blackened flesh fell off his fingers and turned to ash in the water.

"_Free me, Hikari…"_

Hikari breathed hard, shuddering away from him. "No…you can rot in hell, I bet you're good at that…" Her words were soft, barely above a whisper and shaky. But lethal in their own right and the glare she carried with them would have shocked her grandfather to his grave.

He smirked, leaning back to his full height, his head slightly titled, pleased with her words. "_You really have no choice…__but to free me…it was what you were destined to do…." _

Yukio chuckled darkly, flicking a stray strand of hair away from his pale face. He closed his eyes, seeming to consider something.

"_Though your grandfather has done a marvelous job at keeping me at bay and sealed. But he grows old and weary. His power is failing and the strain of this evening will leave him weak for awhile…the perfect time….the perfect chance…when the moment comes you will know what to do…"_

The man's eyes flickered back open, glancing over to the shore. His gaze hardened seeing something there but he shrugged carelessly after a few moments.

"_You must be on your way…Hikari…but remember…..I'll be waiting…"_

With one last glance her way he closed his eyes thoughtfully, turned, and headed back out over the water. Disappearing with the hungry waves.

She stood there shaking, just concentrating on getting her lungs and heart to work properly. _He didn't try to take me this time….Why? Because… he can't?…he needs me to…to free him…Ha…I'd rather gag myself with a spoon than to even come back to these waters again…_

Slowly her dulled mind heated up, sending sharp signals to her legs and ears. Shakily she put a hand up to her temple. Trying to dispel the headache that was forming and quiet her terrified thoughts.

HIKARI!

Not good. The force and sound of the voice nearly knocked her over. Clamping her hands over her ears she swung around to the source of the voice.

Kiyoshi stood a couple yards away on the shore and was doing a wonderful impersonation of a windmill with those demons. The Bo was just a blur of brown as it swung between attacks and broke bones on impact. Four demons lay dead on the ground beside him but five had gathered around him, blocking off his exists.

Seeing the danger that her grandfather was in Hikari tightened her grip on her fan, momentarily forgetting about the reencounter she had just had with Yukio with the new threat to Kiyoshi, and sprinted the few feet it took to get to the shore. It seemed so easy now but of course at the moment she didn't have a hell bent demon after her now did she?

The old man looked up from a hard block with his staff and over to the girl with a grimace. They were wearing him down. Soon even he wouldn't be able to hold them off.

"NO! Hikari! Go after them! They are headed for the temple to get the scroll! Stop them at all costs!" Hikari stopped, glancing around for the other 5 demons that she had been dealing with. Gone.

_Damn! The Scroll! _Nausea welling up inside her, she swiveled in the direction of the path to the temple.

There they were, she just caught a glimpse of a scaly back before it was swallowed in the darkness. Hikari took a step toward the trail but hesitantly looked back at Kiyoshi.

Throwing the sword off his Bo he twirled it, hitting a demon forcefully in the skull. Bits of brain and fragments of bone flew in all directions as Kiyoshi twirled his staff, blocking another sword from his right while kicking another off from the front.

_He'll be fine just go. _Trying to find a smidgen of comfort in these words she sprinted up the trail as fast as her legs would carry her. Determined to stop the monsters before it was too late.

Running along the path, dodging stray tree limbs, she could just hear the labored breathing of her quarry over her own. Judging by the sounds from up ahead and from the easy trail they were leaving behind it wasn't hard to estimate where they were heading or what trail they seemed to be following. _They seem to be heading along the snake trail. Good, that means I can cut across the cemetery and get to the temple hopefully first. Then I can get the Scroll away from them until I can get more help…or think up a better way to handle the guys…_

Shoving her fan into her front pocket, Hikari vaulted herself over a nearby boulder on the left and into the trees. Zig zagging around oaks and avoiding bushy plants she hurtled along toward the cemetery. Breathing hard and just barely managing to stay on her wild feet.

After only a few minutes of going safari style through her backyard, she burst out of the trees and into the quiet gloom of the graveyard, her foot falls clashing horribly with the respective silence that thundered in her ears. Gritting her teeth Hikari stretched her legs farther, trying to gain more ground and keep her shoes from making as much noise as possible.

A hundred or so small stone markers greeted her like prim soldiers, forever standing against the elements of time to tell of the soul buried beneath them. Hikari carefully sprinted around them and the graves, taking a few extra seconds of her time to avoid running over their final resting places or trip on their tombstones.

Coming to the edge of the clearing where the dead were put to rest she glanced back over her shoulder at the last set of graves. More fresh than any of the others yet level with the ground and covered with springy new grass. A flicker of sadness came to her eyes before she pushed it away. She had more important matters to dwell on than the past.

Taking a daring leap and swinging off an overhanging branch Hikari reentered the woods. Doing much of the same that she had before in order to get to the trail just ahead. Only her progress with this side was much more clumsy and she wasn't taking as great of pains as she was previous to keep quiet.

Hikari suddenly flew out of the forest unexpectedly. Surprised she skidded on her sneakers sideways in order to redirect her body from colliding into the sturdy tree in front of her. She flipped her hair out of her mouth as it swung to catch up with her, swaying all over the place as it trailed behind her in the breeze she was making.

She chanced a glance behind her, jogging down the relatively straight path. Nothing. A frown etched its way on her face. _That's odd…I thought for sure they'd be right behind me…_

That's when Hikari heard them. She had been watching the ground and glancing behind her every couple steps expecting to see their scaly faces appearing right behind her. While swerving away from the rocks and generally trying to stay on her feet, she heard a sudden growl directly in front of her that made her look up. They were straight ahead. Apparently that short cut of hers hadn't worked out exactly like she wanted. But she'd gotten lucky, they hadn't noticed her yet and they hadn't gotten to the temple before her.

Judging by the grouped and snickering backs she guessed that one had tripped over a loose stone and was sent flying into a tree. The other four had stopped to wait for him, some even helping him get his head uncaught from the bark, and were laughing their asses off. Hooting every time their partner picked a particularly nice piece of sap from his face. We'll just say that the victim of the tree wasn't in a very good mood by the permanent scowl stitched into his face.

Having their current attention trained on the situation in front of them they didn't notice Hikari until she was right on them. By then, it was too late for them to do anything.

This was her chance to strike. Thinking fast she did about the only thing she could do traveling down a rocky trail at breath rattling speeds. She pulled out her fan making sure that it stayed closed and threw it at the nearest one. Straining her eyes in the pitch of the night to follow the path of the steel, hoping that it found its mark. It had a good chance of becoming lost in a friendly bush with the greatness of her aim.

_Oh please hit him! Please hit. Please hit. Please hit. Please hit!_

Hikari bit her lip, praying that for once in her life she actually hit relatively close to _any _target. Flashes of embarrassing games of dodge ball replayed through her mind. She shuddered, now was not the time to repeat one of those adventures.

But for tonight, fate seemed to be on her side. With a satisfying crunch she saw that the fan had lodged itself in the demon's nose. Adding a fan to the sap he needed to get off his face.

He stared in shock for a spilt second at his impaled nose before he suddenly howled bloody murder and jumped from foot to foot clutching the fan. Too freaked to attempt to get it out. The others though had stopped their laughing and had drawn out their weapons, looking in the direction that the thing had come from. Or it _was _the direction the fan had originated from.

Hikari blew right past the other four, narrowly missing a club as it came down on the space where her arm had just been. Dodging their blows and them themselves, she ran right past, unharmed. Hardly believing her luck and their aim that reminded her so much of her own.

The five demons looked at her back, in complete shock. Wasn't she the girl who'd been in the lake with that hell demon? Here she was alive and well and she had put a _fan_ in one of their comrade's nose.

Stifling back a laugh Hikari glanced back over at their stunned faces and stuck her tongue out mockingly. Bad idea. This seemed to wake the guys up, growling out death threats; they grabbed their nose less friend and bolted after her.

"Oh shit." Hikari sped up her legs; those guys had death on their minds. Her death. _Maybe the whole sticking out tongue thing was a little bit too much…I shouldn't get too cocky with these guys…_

Skidding around another corner, ducking as a randomly found stick was throw with unbelievable skill at her head, she almost cried when she saw the temple. So far they had shot four arrows at her, each one getting closer and closer. Meaning their aim was improving. These guys were out for blood and she was now weaponless.

Practically falling down the stone path, she ran up to the porch and grabbed the first thing she saw that she might be able to defend herself with. The broom. Hell, not a real weapon by any standards but it was something.

Spinning on the spot she planted herself in front of the entrance to the main room, the one with the Scroll inside.

The demons had cleared the forest and gathered a few feet away in the garden, catching their breath. Trampling the blossoms and delicate stems that took root there. The one with the fan in his face had to be restrained by two of the others so he wouldn't go after Hikari. The struggle he was putting up was turning the wonderful garden into mulch.

"We are going to enjoy killing you little girl. You really don't know how pissed off you've made us by doing that to our friend. I hope you said your prayers this morning because you'll be seeing whatever being you scum pray to." The leader from before spat out his words spit flying everywhere in between gasps. He fingered his sword threateningly, running his thumb down it, causing a thin line of blood to appear.

Glancing at the sword, Hikari held out the broom much the same way she had seen her grandfather do a thousand times before with his Bo. Both hands grasping the handle, fists a comfortable distance apart, and knees slightly bent. The best defensive position she could accomplish.

It was pretty long and not really her first choice to use out of their variety of cleaning products. But everyone's used a broom before and who hasn't pretended to fight off a bunch of ninjas with the stick before you swung it a little too widely and hit yourself in the face? Yep, Broom Kung Fu, the ultimate fighting technique.

Red cat eyes sneered at her, taking in the clumsy broom. The others were hardly hiding their laughter at the sad attempt that was her 'weapon'. The leader chuckled wickedly. "It's a perfect night to kill and my blade's hungry. How about you boys? Feeling like staining the ground red tonight!"

Not needing anymore encouragement from their boss the five charged at her, the one with the new fan piercing already on the porch, bringing his sword down for the bloodshed to begin. Hikari, still panting from the run, held her broom up length wise to block. Bracing her legs to take on the added weight and force.

The sword came down and cleanly cut the wood in two. She was left standing there, a little shocked, just holding two useless pieces of timber. He smirked at his work, bringing his sword back for the final blow. "Oops, I broke your weapon." Hikari glanced between the pieces of wood before looking back up at the demon, eyes steely.

"No…" She lashed out with the handle suddenly, hitting him squarely across the jaw before crouching down and tripping him up with the other piece. Hikari stood back up, looking down with a small grin on the defeated form. "…You just gave me one more…."

Have you ever heard the sound of two bags of marbles being hit together? Well, if you have then you heard the exact same thing as Hikari when the Head demon punched her right in the jaw.

She didn't know where he had even come from. All she remembered seeing were some scales and the sensation of being air born before her world went temporarily black. Of course, she was more concerned with the pain that was surging along her mouth and cheek than with what she was seeing.

Hikari flew backwards into the temple. Her body didn't stop its flight until it hit the sacred chest dead on. She slammed into it, knocking it off its pedestal and across the floor while she skidded painfully along after it. Coming to a rest just a few feet away from the box with some major rug burn action and totally unconscious to the world.

A large fat demon ran up to the doorway, surveying the damage done to the girl from a distance. "Nice job Suki. Now the scroll's ours." Suki held out his arm to stop the demon as he attempted entering. He eyed him with contempt. "I beat the girl, I'm the one in charge of this operation. _I_ get to go first. If you have a problem with that then I suggest you speak now." The larger demon studied Suki for a few seconds before stepping away from the door jam dismissively. He was the leader after all and you didn't become the leader of a group of demons by vote that was for sure.

Back in the temple Hikari was starting to come to. The pain in her jaw was subsiding and turning into a raw, throbbing ache. After a few moments of watching colorful zooming stars go by, Hikari groaned and opened her eyes. _What happened? Where am I? _

The stars were still there but other shapes were present too. There were strange voices in this fuzzy world as well. Slowly it all came into focus, blurry shapes taking on sharper lines and unfamiliar objects becoming clearer ones of recollection.

With a jolt Hikari sat up, remembering where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. Her world swayed and spun before her eyes. Making her stomach do flip-flops. She held her head with one hand. _Oh…shouldn't do that…_

Carefully and much slower this time, she raised her head, gathering that she was in the main room, near the fuda. Hikari touched the blood that was coming out of the corner of her mouth lightly; a flash of scaly fingers crossed her eyes. _That was classic Hikari…_With a scowl she brushed the rest of the blood away and shakily crawled around to the side of the pedestal to find the source of the voices.

The leader that she remembered from earlier was talking to a very large lizard, or lizard man, as she had fondly named the devil children from hell. They were too busy with their one-sided arguing to notice that she had come to. If she were going to do anything she'd have to do it now. _Better get the fuda and out of here fast while they're distracted. _

Glancing around she caught sight of the sacred chest and crawled toward it, leaning more on her left side because of her wounded shoulder. Getting to the Scroll and keeping it out of their hands was her top priority right now. So it made sense to retrieve it before they got it.

Dragging the chest toward her she looked it over. Simple, wooden, about as big as a pencil box, nothing really that special. She noticed a small clasp at the front, the kind a 3 year old could open.

Hikari's face faulted, her expression becoming more annoyed than scared. _Oh yah grandpa that'll work wonders. _Rolling her eyes she took the box in the crook of her arm and froze. Something wasn't right here. That tingly sensation was coming back. It seemed to be yelling, Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

A dark chuckle sounded behind her. "Hello…sweetheart…" Hikari spun around, her hair flying wildly behind her, fear rising up into the pit of her stomach. "You seem to have something that belongs to us…" The demon Suki hinted at the box with his eyes. He shifted from his lounging position against the pedestal, smugly registering her fear, before looking behind her with a sickening smirk.

She spun around again, trembling, not liking that smirk in the least. There were the other three, twirling their swords and giggling sinisterly at her. She hadn't even heard them come up behind her. _They've got me cornered. Trapped like some sick game of cat and mouse. _Hikari turned back to Suki, clutching the box against her chest she glared up at him, her hair falling slightly in front of her eyes. "Go to hell."

Suki gave her a toothy grin, straightening up and crossing his arms. "Gladly. That just makes the game more fun right boys?" The three behind her chuckled their agreement, pleased at the prospect of ending her life.

Hikari narrowed her eyes at them; it was her only defense now. There was nothing she could do but stall them long enough for her grandfather to get here to stop them. But by then it would probably be too late. She would be dead on the floor and they'd be well gone into the night. They'd probably retreat back to their lair, cackle over their victory, open the childish lock with ease, take the fuda and in thus doing so, end her entire family's work with a simple word.

She blinked. _Wait a second…_A sudden idea had struck Hikari's mind and slowly a small smile of triumph worked its way onto her face. It was risky and would only give her a split second's chance to get away but what other choice did she have? Her options had run dry long ago and she'd take anything at the moment.

Quickly she moved the box into a better position and less out of their sight. Looking over her shoulder at the largest demon she tried to change her face into a defeated and helpless look. "You must be the one in charge." She cast her head down. "I'll give the fuda to you."

The demon looked at her startled, though pleased that she thought of him in such a high rank. He struck a buff pose, grinning despite himself. But one glance over at Suki stopped his mini photo shoot and told him to lay the record straight or face the extreme punishments that only bamboo can do.

"Umm…no…I'm not..ehh…he is.." He pointed in a random direction, too terrified from the smoking eyes of his leader to get his limbs to work properly.

Hikari turned to the next demon, swiftly unclasping the box before her movements could be noticed. "Oh, then you're the one I give it to?" Without even glancing at his smoldering boss he quickly shook his head, eyes trained on the floor, mumbling something under his breath.

As she moved to the third demon her hand quickly slipped inside the box and retrieved the paper, placing it inside her pocket before the others noticed. She could just barely conceal her grin as she opened her mouth to ask the question yet again to the wrong demon.

Suki had had enough, though. Pushing the other demon out of the way he stood in front of her, the scowl on his face would have made her math teacher proud.

"_I'm _the leader you imbecile. You give the damn box to me!" Hikari jumped at the venom in his voice and quickly brought the box forward. Doing her best to fake a whimper as he snatched it out her hands. "Good little mortal…we may even decide to keep you…your corpse maybe…" Hikari kept her head down, sifting slightly, the picture of defeat. Though she was having extreme difficulty hiding the smirk that was growing across her face.

The rather idiotic demons gathered around their boss. Basking in the glow of their triumph. Suki eyed the box lovingly like a devoted father. "Now it's our time to rule…" Flicking the simple lock open with a claw, shaking in anticipation of his about to come true dreams, he lifted back the lid to find…absolutely nothing.

They all stared dumbstruck at the empty space, disbelief glaring from their foreheads in neon lights. "Wha-" "Made ya look!" Hikari yelled at them before kicking her right leg straight up, launching the box right into Suki's face. The other three grimaced at the sound, knowing their leader's face had became flat upon impact and didn't even notice Hikari getting off the floor and running toward the door with the fuda in her hand.

"Umm…Suki?" The larger demon from before reached toward his shoulder but shrunk back when his master gave a violent shudder.

Suki tore the box off his face, rendering it to pieces. His gaze blazed as he saw the girl running toward the door, almost free. "FUCK THAT!" He grabbed the whip on his belt and lashed it at her, catching it around her foot and bringing her with a crash to the floor.

Suki's eyes had gone to just red slits, his arms and voice shaking in rage as he began dragging the girl toward him. "You filthy, fucking, bitch. I'm not going to kill you. Oh fuck no. I'm going to rip your nails out, shove needles into your eyes, and rape you senseless until in the end it fucking kills you!"

Hikari dug her nails into the floor to try to stop Suki's progress but all it did was drive splinters into her bleeding hands and create long claw marks in the wood. No amount of struggling or talking would get her out, she was going to die here and she knew it. Despite the fact of the inevitable she still tried to get away, animal instinct driving her to flip over on her back and hack at the whip with her bare hands.

_Oh god…please someone help me….._

In her hand she still gripped the fuda though it was long forgotten. She didn't care about the damn thing. No one could get it to work so why should a couple of demons manage the impossible? Her life was more important than some piece of paper in her opinion anyway.

_I have to get away….but I can't…I'm not strong enough…I'm going to die…._

Her body shook with fear and suppressed sobs. There was no escape from this. The whip was thick and lined with spikes; her hands were being torn to shreds as she desperately hacked at them. She kicked and twisted, trying anything within her power to get free.

Hikari drove her nails deep into the thick leather whip causing the spikes to rip the forgotten fuda in her hand and drive the torn paper into her flesh. Suki had her halfway to him now, just a couple more pulls and she'd be within his claws. Helpless. No one, not even her grandfather could save her now. She would die tonight.

_Oh please, someone. Someone save me! Please! Someone! HELP ME! _

She clawed at these thoughts. Desperately clinging to them with every fiber of her being. She couldn't even hope to scream or use her voice for help. It had abandoned her long ago. Hoping against hope, she tore at the whip feverishly, small tears running down her cheeks, wishing that some force out there would hear her cries and save her.

_SOMEONE HELP ME!_

These words echoed around her mind, fueling and draining her at the same time. Hollowing out the truth of the situation. Like acid it ate away at her, consuming her flesh to leave her exposed and alone.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Her throat burned with the intensity she used to scream these three words to the heavens. Calling out her last prayer to the sky before the fate that awaited her at the end of the room claimed her.

That's when something drove her out of her fear. Her hands started shaking but it wasn't her terrified nerves doing it. She glanced down at her closed and red fists, breathing heavily, trying to restore oxygen to her depleted lungs. The paper was torn and dug deeply in to the flesh around her fingers, but it was glowing and vibrating her whole arm. That tingling sensation was back but…it was different…it was…warm…that same feeling…that honey feeling… the kind that she secretly wished for…

Suddenly billows of smoke began to fill the room, sweeping in from nowhere like someone had just lit off a smoke bomb beside the group.

White smoke thicker than fog flooded the temple. Tumbling through the rooms, the substance swallowed all in its path like an enormous snake. It feed most greedily on those in the main room, devouring them with in the thick substance until all had completely vanished within its depths.

Suki's tugging on the whip had instantly ceased with the appearance of the fog. The constricting hold flat lining as its master became occupied with something else.

Not pausing to really wonder how the fog came onto the scene Hikari reached down, fumbling, using more her sense of feel than sight, and freed herself from the whip, casting it aside like a poisonous snake. Relief flooded her over worked system as she backed up a few paces from the position she had been in on the ground before stopping. Shivering, she tried to regain some control over her racing heart and throat tearing breathing.

A soft cold breeze began blowing around her, causing goose bumps to scattered along her flesh. The wind cast an amazing show of spirals and swirls in the milky colored smoke. But besides making the room even colder it also made it harder for her to see even her hand in front of her face. Something was defiantly off.

The fog seemed to crackle with electricity, though there was no logical explanation to as to how this could happen. The strange pulses sizzled dangerously close to Hikari but the bolts didn't seem dangerous at all and it sent the small breeze into a gale. Whipping her hair all over the place and revealing small spaces of dark wood before it was once again swallowed with the tide.

A sharp curse and whimpering brought Hikari out of her state of fascination with the mist. She sharply turned her head in the direction the sound had come from, taking a few backward steps with her hands.

The cursing grew louder and she could hear Suki's detailed death threats clearly over the whimpering of his crew. Sad thing was those death threats mostly included the words 'worthless mortal' and 'sneaky fucking human'.

_Oh no…_

Fear causing black spots to appear in front of her eyes, Hikari dragged herself backwards, reaching her hands behind her desperately searching for some sort of weapon, anything really to defend herself from this monster. The electricity was turning into white-hot lightening and the wind wasn't far behind in matching a small tornado.

Suki's threats thundered in her ears and she could almost see his outline through the smoke. He was getting closer and when he found her he would not hesitate to kill her. She would either have to find something now to defend herself with or die tonight on the cold floor. Her blood would leak from her mangled body as her terrified eyes stared out for the help that had come too late. _No…I won't die like that…especially by someone like him…_

Heartbeat racing, she fumbled about her widely for some sort of a defense. No hope even trying to get to the door, even as big as her doorway was she had lost all sense of direction and had no idea where she was in her own home.

Reaching behind her, she felt something solid roll away from her fingers. Almost disbelieving her luck she swung around and grasped the broken handle of the broom. Her heartbeat pounded against her eardrums. Suki had gone silent.

With cold sweat running down her back Hikari quickly flipped back over from her side onto her back, broom handle raised, to come face to face with a pair of burning embers.

She had no time to react, in slow motion she watched, eyes wide, as Suki began to lower his glistening saber in a downwards arch, the air around it splitting in half as the sharp steel broke it apart to create an odd whistling sound.

Hikari's erratic heartbeat played like an obsessive bass drum in the background. Unsettling like a killer's theme music. Suki's cold blood lusting smile stretched across his face, twisting it like hot wax. Utter delight in her soon to be death twinkled in his eyes as the blade came down. It was just centimeters from her wildly beating heart.

Odd memories flashed across her eyes. Like an aged film they filtered through her mind's eye. Throwing random moments of her life at her before they were washed away in a flash off brilliant light and another memory would take its place.

Her grandfather, the lake, mother, Sakura, school, the time she put bugs in her father's coffee. All of these and more sprinted through her mind as the crimson steel tore through the fabric of her black hodie. Even with the memories playing she could still see Suki and what was soon to come. It was unavoidable. The girl braced herself for the impact and the sharp pain that would spell out her death.

Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, a black blur flashed across her vision. In the instant that she could see the thing it flew past Suki, taking him and the blade with it. The blur and the demon both disappeared in the fog somewhere to her left. By the sound of it the two had crashed into the hard wood floor rather roughly.

She heard a sharp intake of breath, not really knowing if it was hers or someone else's. The metallic ring of steel reached her ears followed swiftly by a piercing scream. A sudden bright wetness splattered across Hikari's face. The all too quick appearance of the substance catching her off guard, temporarily stunning her, leaving her frozen on the floor.

After a few moments of mimicking a statue, she reached up with a quivering hand and touched her face, drawing back her fingers to make out a sticky, thick liquid coating the skin. Blood.

Terrified beyond all logic she glanced around like a frightened animal. Crawling backwards quickly as she heard more screams and the sounds of a scuffle not so far from her. But these were not the sounds of two opponents who respected each other and fought by the rules. These were the sounds of a hunter cornering his prey and his prey knowing they were about to die. Very much like it had been for her.

Dragging herself backwards from the flying blood and screams she bumped into one of the tables along the far left side and quickly climbed on top of it, flattening herself up against the wall. She curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shaking knees. Wishing she could just morph into the old pine and disappear entirely from this nightmare.

But just as soon as the blood shed had started it suddenly ceased. The screams had stopped abruptly as if some higher being was sick of the noise and had pressed the mute button on her surroundings. All that she could hear was her painfully obvious breathing, short and ragged. Spelling out to any attacker exactly how helpless she really was.

The fog was thinning out and starting to clear, the almost firework display of electricity had gone down to a dull buzz, and the winds were nothing more than a slight breeze through the night. Her eyes dug through these now weak defenses for hindering vision and searched harder and faster than the world champ at a Where's Waldo convention.

_What was that thing? _Her mind repeated the same question she had been asking herself over and over since she first caught a glimpse of the black.

Half of her didn't even want to look for the source of the blur. Being much more content with playing make believe. But once again curiosity fueled her to turn her head in the direction it was most likely going to be killed in.

The thin fog whipped across the floor, unveiling the dark wood there. With a sudden lurch to her stomach, she noticed shinning ruby blood as well. It stained the oak in bizarre and twisted patterns. Some lines were long and smeared while others were just sharp drops in a freakish display of gore. Body parts also accompanied this painter's canvas, throw in in odd placements and detached in the most brutal manner. Creating a perfect harmony between death and war.

Hikari became vaguely aware of that same tingling sensation again. It was like a warm fuzzy all around her, extremely contrasting to how she truly felt at this point. She pushed the feeling away though, not wanting anything to do with it now. It had caused her enough problems. _Forget the feeling…I'm just going to find out whatever the blur was…then get the hell out of here…._

Glancing around and finding nothing she worked up the courage to gently slip off the table, getting bolder as the seconds dwindled on and nothing happened. Taking a few steps she kept her eyes trained up, not wanting to take another peak at the floor. She had seen enough mangled corpses for the night.

Cold shivers ran up and down her back as she took a few more brave steps into the room. She clenched the broom handle tighter in her fist, her fingers white with the force, while her other hand clung to the torn fabric across her chest. This was unnerving. There was defiantly something in this room with her and it could kill. Question was, would it kill her?

_What on earth killed them? One moment I was about to be impaled with a sword and the next the demons are the ones being murdered, while I watched on. Yet it hasn't attacked me yet…Wait, am I listening to myself? This thing can kill and I'm trying to find it! Forget it…I'm too weak to deal with whatever it is…I need to get out of here…something in this room has a great ability to kill and I'm not going to experience it…._

Taking a quick look to the right, where she hoped the door was, she just barely moved her foot to steer her in that direction when she froze. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a flash of black movement. She shakily turned toward the movement, not really having much control over her actions. Her eyes riveted to one fixed spot over in the far side of the room next to a freshly made corpse.

Holding back a gasp she gaped at the man before her. He had materialized right out of the mist like some supernatural being. His long, black, slightly bluish hair put up in a high ponytail had appeared first. Followed shortly by long pointy ears that stuck out from each side of his head. Eyes like the purest blues before true black settles upon the night stared back out at her. His handsome face betrayed nothing of what he was currently thinking or feeling. A perfect mask.

_Who the…._ He stared across at her, almost through her, with a saber held loosely in his grasp. Recognition registered on Hikari's face as her dark brown orbs absorbed the sword. _Suki's saber….he killed Suki….he was the one that killed them all….he…o shit….he…._ Taking a step back she raised the broom handle slightly. Not really very threatening since her whole arm was shaking uncontrollably. But she was ready to blot or attack to save herself; hopefully the first was the course of action she would get to take.

But he didn't seem to worry over her attempts; instead he just smirked, an eyebrow cocked incredulously at her weapon. Hikari glared, anger at her helplessness overtaking her fear, she knew it was idiotic but what real choice did she have?

He tilted his head slightly, studying her. Almost seeing her for the first time and finding that she was indeed something to look further into. She took this time too to get a better look at him as well.

Hikari ran her eyes over him but stopped well above his waist. The guy was lean and had a very nice body, the kind that the girls at her school would have drooled over. But she quickly kept her eyes firmly locked on his, trying to glance anywhere but down as her checks turned slightly pink. _Who is this guy and why doesn't he have any clothes on! Stop blushing Hikari and don't look down…just don't…ugh…Dear Buddha why me?_

He noticed her slightly red cheeks and an amused smile broke along his face. With a small chuckle the man took a step back and vanished into the mist before Hikari had the time to even blink. She took a step back, surprised, searching wildly for him.

A pale and slightly bloody hand, shot out of the fog in front of her and clasped her uninjured shoulder. Jumping at the sudden action Hikari's instinct took complete control over the situation. Knowing that her life was in danger, once again, she brought her broom handle down upon the fingers of her new attacker with all the force her arm could muster.

The wood connected with the long fingers and broke on impact. Flying splinters of dark mahogany rained down upon the floor but the fingers didn't move, instead the grip on her shoulder only increased. Her attack with the broom handle had completely failed and she now was once again even more helpless than when she had started out.

It wasn't an especially strong hold but it was enough to keep her from getting away and for a nice bruise to form. The guy morphed out of the fog again, his body following his extending arm. He didn't seem in the least bit phased by her feeble attack. Almost like it was a simple twig that someone had gently tapped against his knuckles. He stopped just a few inches from her, those blue eyes staring intently into her dark brown depths.

…_no…it broke right over his hand and he didn't even flinch…I'm dead…_

Hikari felt her mouth go dry and she cringed at his touch, her eyes briefly running over the decaying flesh around her. Noticing her look he spoke, his voice rich and deep. "Don't worry girl…I'm not here to kill you…" His eyes flickered over to Suki's cooling body before going back over to her. "I've done my job…they'll cause no more problems for you…." He paused, a slight frown appearing on his face, almost as if he was seeming to ponder over something before he shook it off. "…My task is complete….So long girl…." With that he let go of her shoulder, turned around without even a final glance at his handiwork, and gracefully walked into the mist, vanishing into the night. Just as mysteriously as he had appeared he had disappeared.

She stood there for a few moments, complete shock leaving her immobile. Not believing that the demon, for that was what he was, had let her go. For all that's good in the world the guy had _bat wings_. There could be no mistaking what he was. He had killed four other demons that had been about to do the same to her and he had simply let her go with a so long.

Her whole body trembled and a wide range of emotions that spiked the charts ran through her blood stream like crazed chickens. _Why? Why did he not kill me? How did he even get here…Wha..?_

Hikari felt herself going numb; she couldn't take what had happened tonight. She needed a way to get rid of this shaking, fear driven feeling. So she did the only thing that anyone else who had gone through a night like she had would do. She sank to her knees and threw up in a pool of blood to her left.

Her throat felt raw and the awful taste of her stomach contents in her mouth was enough to make her want to puke again. But she resisted the gagging urge and glanced around her. With the fog almost gone she could see the doorways leading off into the different rooms, sweet rest would be guaranteed behind those walls. But she could also see what the demon had left behind in his wake. Hikari took one look at the mangled corpses surrounding her and completely blacked out. Her body shutting down so it could recuperate on a level where it could take in all of this trauma and process it at a later date.

Unconscious to the world, she didn't know that not very far from where she was, someone, who she had just met just seconds before hand, was having a very hard time turning his back and leaving her.


	4. Problems

A/N: By Jove, Watson! Is that an update? Ohaiyo everyone! It's 12:00 a.m. (I told you in my profile I wouldn't sleep until I'd updated. XP) over here so Ohaiyo! Ohaiyo! Before we go on to this long belated update I must request a moment of your time. For you see there are a few people here who have done me a great honor and I would personally like to thank them…These people are…

**Gaara's Pyro Raccoon! – **You were the first ever! It's your threats that keep me going!

**Aviarianna O Lorien! – **Never once has anyone told me my story was original. That's what I go for and so it means a lot.

**incessant embers – **Holy kung fu ninjas, Batman! My fight scenes are interesting! Who'd have thought? Personally I go over them so much I don't know if they make sense but I'm happy you enjoyed them!

**blackpanzer!** - 'returns bow' Wow. Enthralling is a new one for me and dead to the world as well. I didn't think I could reach that sort of writing status.

**kcauz – **My cliffhangers are paying off! I never thought they really worked so this is a big help.

**Rima – **Power to ya! I thought I was the only one who was annoyed at how fast these characters seem to fall in love. Where's the romantic tension? The cute scenes of nope I won't say I even like him? Where'd it all go? I'll grantee this is going to be a relationship they'll both have to work for, but don't worry I have lots of things (hopefully original) to happen in between. That's even _if_ they end up saying the L word. XP Muwhahaha...

**firerose13 – **I'm keeping someone in suspense! 'checks that off of life goa'l Really you people give me the guts to write horror novels. Another dream of mine. XD

Honestly. these people deserve a hand. They've taken the time to speak with me and I'm very grateful. Too many warm fuzzes…too few words…

* * *

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

A pale arm swung with experienced accuracy in a downward arc on the incessant noise. With a satisfying 'SMACK' the ear grating alarm clock ceased its outcry and the pale arm swiftly retracted back down from whence it came.

Hikari groaned, pulling the covers up over her head as she rolled over. "School can wait an extra five minutes," she muttered into her mattress as she snuggled deeper into her warm sheets.

Early morning light spilled down from her window, casting her bed and some of her room a light blue grey. A particular stubborn ray of light had sneaked onto Hikari's face, somehow it had skirted past her thick blanket of defense and was now teasing her by becoming brighter as the seconds slipped by.

As the little light got slowly brighter she watched with more annoyance, unable to sleep with the mini flashlight shining in her eyes. _Does anybody want me to sleep? _Abandoning the futile effort of rest, she glared down at her mattress and began drawing shapes and designs into the blue material with her index finger. _I might as well get up…Don't want to fall back asleep and have another freaky dream. Demons, scrolls, spirit world, killer smoke from who knows where….little different from my school related nightmares, that's for sure…Still that had been pretty vivid. It almost seemed as if I had been there….the screams…the blood…Heck even my shoulder still hurts from the- _

Hikari sat up with a jolt, her left hand flying toward her right shoulder. As she quickly spread back the fabric of her shirt to see she noticed that she was still wearing the same clothes that she had had on the night before and that there was a long slash mark across the right side of her shirt…

The short black sleeve of her hodie pulled back from her shoulder and instead of seeing skin there Hikari saw a white linen bandage. It was wrapped tightly around the wound that lay underneath and she could make out a small spot of dried blood that had came through the many layers.

_No way…_

She rotated her arm slowly in a full 360 degrees. The muscles in her shoulder replied with a dull ach and a slight stinging pain, but thankfully nothing that serious. After making sure there was no further damage done to that particular limb Hikari let her arm fall limply back down to her lap. _That cannot be a coincidence…but if my arm is hurt then my hands… _She glanced down to her palms that were folded loosely on the bedspread.

Until now she hadn't noticed the three large, brown band-aids covering her right hand and the many scratches and scrapes that dotted them both like a Light Bright. _…Sweet Buddha…my shoulder, hands…but what about? _

Hikari quickly reached back behind her back and pulled up her shirt. Her pulse quickened as her fingers grazed across the fresh scabs that decorated her lower back in a rough rectangular patter. _Where I fell onto the demon's spiked belt…_ Her hands came back around and she stared at them as if not knowing who's they were.

_It wasn't a dream…all of that happened…Everything's true…Spirit world, Yukio, that demon from the fog, the scroll…_

Her head jerked up. "Shit! The scroll!" She glanced at her open hands almost expecting the fuda to have suddenly appeared but was disappointed when all that she received was the wounded palms that she had had just a few seconds earlier. Not finding it there, Hikari looked around her wildly, throwing back the covers and digging in her blankets.

Futile. Nothing was there. Only one of her socks that had somehow slipped off of her feet during the little bit of night that she had gotten to sleep through. "Where is it?" Hikari flew around the room. Searching under the desk, the small lamp, the bed, in the closet, everywhere that the small bit of paper could have gotten. But it denied to show itself.

Hikari paced the middle of her room, running her fingers distractedly through her tangled hair, trying to figure out where the scroll could have gotten. _It's not here…It could be in the main room…_She threw her sock into the laundry basket as she passed. _No. Kiyoshi must have dressed my wounds so he would have seen it there and if I had brought it in here he would have taken it. Alright. Calm down. It's gotta be somewhere…_

She stopped her pacing and breathed deeply, putting her mind on rewind as she tried to remember what she had done with the fuda. Her memories quickly skimmed over the encounter with Batman in the fog, past her near death experience with Suki and to just before the strange smoke.

Her mind played out her complete fear of the moment all too vividly. She could almost see herself as the tears spilled down her face and onto her hands. The whip was twisted around her leg, digging in deep, she clawed at it her skin ripping, blood running between her fingers, down her arms, staining the fuda red, and then she screamed. Those three simple words. That's when her hand had started shaking and the fog rolled in.

_That's the last time I saw the scroll…It was in my right hand and all the fog started coming in and I threw the whip off. Then I crawled backwards across the floor and grabbed the broom handle with my right hand…But the relic wasn't there...I didn't drop it. So where?_

Hikari came back from her mental ponderings with a jolt. Everything began to slide into place. The missing pieces that she couldn't identify at the time clicking together with the only possible explanation.

_Did I activate the scroll? _

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The alarm clock's revenge resounded within the room. It almost seemed to become louder with its triumph of scaring Hikari so bad she jumped about three feet to the left, tripped over the edge of her bed, went sailing over the end of it, and onto her backpack filled with some of her heaviest text books.

Getting unsteadily to her feet, Hikari stomped over to her clock and swiftly pulled the cord out, watching with a slight smirk as it died mid BEEP. Swinging the cord idly she glanced down to the wristwatch that rested peacefully on the small nightstand by her bed.

5:45 a.m.

"Wonderful. I think I just activated the thing my family has been protecting for hundreds of years and used it to unleash a demon that's so powerful he kills 5 of his own without so much as a handshake and now I'm going to be late for school." Cursing under her breath Hikari raced into the bathroom, pulling off her other sock as she hopped along the hall.

Upon entering she deftly closed the door while at the same time trying to tug her shirt off her head. Through some weird twits and some close falls Hikari managed to successfully get into her shower and lay out a towel within an estimated 15 seconds. Quickly, she turned the water on full blast and reached for the shampoo as a jet of warm water soaked her hair.

_I'm dead if Kiyoshi finds out what I did. I don't even know how I got the thing to work but that was what must have happened. Apparently I wished hard enough for someone to come save me that the Scroll granted it. But why? I'm sure that more experienced monks have tried with much more concentration than what I had when they attempted to get the scroll to work. _

_Regardless, who knew it would just disappear like that when I used it? I better not tell Kiyoshi. He treats that thing as if it were his second grandchild and if he knew it was gone forever and what I had done with it…_She grimaced, but it wasn't because she had just gotten a nice squirt of soap in her eyes. _Kiyoshi will be in a rage about what happened last night so I better let him cool off before I break the news. I'm not going to like coming back home… _

Hikari sighed as she shut the shower off and wrapped the fuzzy towel around her. Wringing out her hair she stepped out of the tub and walked to the small medicine cabinet on the wall.

"Until he does cool off I'm going to have to find some way of avoiding him so he doesn't bring the subject up." She opened up the mirrored door and took out a brush, thinking of all the possible escape routes she could take this morning in order to avoid her grandfather. She groaned quietly, imagining her grandfather's reaction when she broke the news. "He's going to be so disappointed in me." Closing the door she pulled her hair over her shoulder and set the brush to taking care of the rats that had taken to nest in the thick strands.

"Oh, don't be negative! Think positive thoughts, things will turn around."

The brush fell with a clatter to the floor. Hikari gripped her hair tightly as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. What stared back out at her wasn't a girl with dark purple blue hair and brown eyes. This strange person had electric green hair pulled up into two extremely messy buns at the top of her head. Her eyes were such a light brown that they seemed almost yellow and she was wearing ared kimono with yellow pants underneath.

The girl beamed back out at Hikari, clearly pleased that she had finally taken notice of her, she continued in a high, flute like voice. "Oh, you don't know how glad I am to see another girl! Now I can finally have a decent conversation instead of morbid grumblings!" She twirled around in a fast circle and then leaned against the sink eagerly.

_There's a girl…with green hair…in my bathroom mirror…_ A few slow blinks greeted these thoughts. _Is this how people start to go insane? _Hikari stared for a few seconds with her mouth slightly open before she got the hint that the girl was waiting for her to say something. Closing her mouth and trying to wrap her mind around this new turn of events she managed to stutter out.

"Oh..umm..yah..eh…Who…Who exactly are you?"

Mirror girl thumped herself on the head. "How silly of me! Of course you don't know who I am…" She chuckled, scratching the back of her head. "I'm Kasumi! The slightly bouncy, always optimistic, companion to Takeshi, Guide to Spirit World!"

Hikari raised an eyebrow. The Kasumi girl had to be a hallucination brought about by the chaotic events of the last few hours. Deciding that placating her overly taxed mind would be best Hikari replied deadpan.

"Hey, I'm Hikari, soon to be responsible for the death of my grandfather via heart attack and the one who brought about the destruction of the sole reason my family has existed for the past several hundred years." _I'm just so stressed out about the scroll and about what happened last night that now I'm imagining things. That must be it. _Hikari thought this to herself forcefully; it was too early for her mind to quit on her.

She bent down, picked up her comb, and resumed her attack on her hair. 'Kasumi' watched.

"Someone woke up a little pessimistic today, didn't they? But never fear! I'll soon have that frown upside down and-Hey! Wha, no way! What's this do? Oh, how cute!"

Hikari put her brush back down and watched as Kasumi wandered around the bathroom's reflection, messing with the taps, outlets, shower, and toilet. It was like she had never seen any of these things before. Everything was new to her. For a 'Spirit Guide' she should have been more acquainted with technology and she had yet to conviently fade away. Hikari was beginning to doubt that this girl was a mirage brought on by stress.

Kasumi skipped back and forth across the bathroom as Hikari watched, doubting her earlier suspicions more and more. Shaking her head Hikari cleared her throat loudly and turned to walk toward the bathroom door.

"Well, it was nice talking to you Kasumi but I can't stay and chat. I have a bus to catch." Waving over her shoulder Hikari quickly exited the bathroom without even noticing the frantic hand gestures of Kasumi and sprinted down the hallway to her bedroom. All the while keeping a look out for her grandfather.

Back in her room Hikari frantically started stuffing her books into her beaten bag and pulling on her school's uniform. Every few hurried movements she would glance anxiously at the clock. It was 6: 04. The bus would be waiting for her at 6:30 and no later. If she wasn't there in time for the bus driver to be done with the 3 cartoons on the back of the newspaper than she might as well camp out in the woods.

Hikari quickly threw her damp hair up into a ponytail and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She had 24 minutes to run four miles downhill through trails that even a park ranger would have trouble on. Taking a deep breath she crawled out her window. "Here goes."

Mr. Shang came to a skidding halt on the gravel road just outside a small trail on the largest mountain around. With skill only known to the transportation industry he swung open the door and carefully opened up his crisp newspaper. With sure movements he flipped the black print over and scanned the lines of font until he came upon the most important piece of any part of any newspaper in the world. The Funnies.

Upon careful inspection of the day's samples he chose what he felt to be the least gut buster of the three supplied and began to digest it fully. A few seconds later he let out a satisfied chuckle and moved onto the next one, saving the best for last. It was then when he snickered under his breath and moved his damaged eyes up to the last set of animated blocks that he heard it.

No human being alive can mistake the sound of someone running for their life. The frantic feet flying out in all directions, the breathing fast and irregular, just enough to supply oxygen to a rapidly over heating brain. Still, Mr. Shang continued onto the next frame, one more to go and he would reach the finale, laugh heartily, close the door, and careen down the mountain to the next stop. It wasn't his problem if the person needed his help or not.

"WAIT!" A breathless and leaf ridden girl flew through the door and proceeded to collapse upon the grimy steps, thus adding to her already dirty attire. Mr. Shang didn't even throw her a glance, already in the middle of a giggle fest over the cartoon. Yes, like only the very diligently trained, he had chosen well. The last was truly the best.

With a sharp snap he folded up the newspaper and glanced down to the half dead creature that had dared fly into his bus. With a permanent wheeze he said, "Most unlike you Hikari. You usually show up somewhere in the middle of the Zits, but you barely made it to the grand finish of Calvin and Hobbs."

Hikari could do nothing more than give a feeble wave and crawl her way past the gum wrappers and pieces of lead to the back of the bus. Lifting up her scratched arms she hauled herself into her seat, third from the back on the left, and ended her glory filled entrance with a flop onto the torn leather seat.

Mr. Shang made sure that Hikari was at least stationary before he shut the door and revved up his only joy. Snapping on his flying goggles he let a dare devil smile add more creases to his egg shaped head before his foot flew like a steel rod to the accelerator. Hikari had just enough will power to grab the bar under the seat before the gravel flew and they were doing 70 down 2 miles of traffic free road.

As they bounced along Hikari managed to pull herself over onto her back and latch her left hand on the back of her seat. Those things weren't there for sudden crashes; they were there for the passengers of city bus 183 to hang onto something.

When Hikari had first started taking this bus she had imagined that Mr. Shang must have been some sort of racecar driver back when he lived in China. But that didn't fit in with where he got the aviation goggles, which he had told her, were more for excitement than show. Mr. Shang didn't need any more excitement. It was common knowledge that on the weekends he would act as the stunt double for anyone who asked. That included women, animals, children, flying props, and the occasional robot. He was truly one of a kind.

Hikari looked up at the sand blasted windows. Odd bits of detached scenery flew by while her reflection stared back at her with bright cheeks, leaves, dirt, and twigs. She groaned as they took a sharp turn to the right and thought, _Why did I even take a shower?_

There was a sharp bump and then the bus's four wheels began making their own tracks on slick asphalt. She sat up; her breath restored for now, and began picking the twigs out of her hair. After a considerable pile of assorted vegetation lay beside her on the seat Hikari looked in the window again. She nearly screamed at what she saw.

Kasumi, the 'spirit guide', was sitting on the seat next to her bouncing in rhythm to the bus. Hikari glanced back at the bus driver, but Mr. Shang apparently hadn't noticed that his soul passenger had almost taken a nosedive into the aisle. Keeping as far away from the window as possible Hikari brushed the twigs the ferry girl was playing with onto the floor and gingerly asked, "Kasumi? What, ah, what are you doing here?"

The girl's head shot up and she giggled before responding, "I'm coming with you silly! I haven't been outside in decades and besides," here she turned serious, "you still don't know what you're up against." Hikari glanced back over to the bus driver. He still hadn't noticed that she was having a conversation with the emergency exit window.

Kasumi made a dismissive gesture toward the Indy 500 driver. "He can't hear me. Only people who are spiritually aware can hear and see me. So to them it just looks like you are having a friendly chat with non living objects." She gave a dental commercial smile and wink. _Oh, that's perfect. More of a reason for society to steer clear._ Hikari thought this bitterly when the bus suddenly pulled to a stop so fast that she became reacquainted with the seat in front of her. _What do you know; they would be useful in the event of a crash. _This thought went with her as Hikari grabbed her things, gave a cheery wave to a pouting Kasumi, and hopped off the bus.

Hikari stepped onto the cracked sidewalk in front of her school. It was one of the best in the city and held some of the all time records in academics. It was spotless, well, almost.

Mr. Shang exchanged the universal signs for good-bye with Hikari before he peeled out to acquire the other unfortunate souls who rode his bus. Hikari actually only rode the bus down the mountain and about 5 blocks through the city. It wasn't far and since it was early he didn't have to worry about the city complaining that he was running a charity drive with local high school students.

Brushing off the excess dirt Hikari decided she was as presentable as she was ever going to get, conquered the grounds in front of the school, and pushed the large front doors open. The cool A/C instantly sent goose bumps on the march across her arms and she was once again reminded that she was wearing a skirt.

It was only 6:45 yet the halls were already packed. She stood before the throng of the moving mass, watching science projects and term papers floating above heads, and books flowering out of nowhere. _Deep breathes before the plunge. _Baring that single bit of advice she hurtled into the wave, becoming yet again, another mindless drone. At least until 3:15.

Like a single living organism the school's population did everything together. Only the most experienced of the building could separate themselves from this primordial beast and get to their individual cubbies in the main entrance where they would switch out their shoes.

Since Hikari was in her second year of high school she was more experienced than the poor freshman that practically got trampled in their efforts to change their shoes. Hikari pitied those souls and used her prestige of being of a higher classman to put on the school's required footwear.

Near the end of the third row on the right side two desperate hands shot out of the mass of uniforms and latched themselves onto the sides of the cubbyhole. Hikari pulled herself free from the student body and quickly slipped out her sneakers and into the school's. Taking another deep breath she plunged back into the throng and let it guide her to the staircases toward the end of the second hall. Once there she grabbed the railing and like a desperate mountain climber she began her ascent to the third story where her classroom would be waiting for her.

On the third floor the population dwindled considerably. There were only a few classrooms up here; the majority of the floor was dedicated to offices and extra rooms for meetings. Straightening the red skirt out from the askew position it had managed to get itself into Hikari turned down the hallway toward the second room on the left. Room 6-C.

Hikari sat in her usual seat, second from the back, row closest to the windows. Her academic success at this school was average, which suited Hikari just fine. She doubted if the school would ever be graced with the brainiacs like Minamino or Yu Kaito ever again. The students a year ahead of her were still reeling from the feeling of medocrity they experienced trying to learn with them.

With a distracted air Hikari rooted around the confines of her desk and pulled out the mornings materials along with a beat up sketch pad. If she was lucky she could get in a few sketches to clear her mind before the morning bell rung.

An hour later the rest of the class had filed into the room, sitting with friends and getting last night's homework assignments finished. Hikari was still at her desk; well, what could be seen of her desk since the majority of it was covered in eraser shavings. She sat glaring at her smudged piece of paper. In the last hour she had accomplished nothing. For the life of her all she could think about were the night's events. The doodles were not helping her relax at all, it seemed to have the opposite effect; instead of her usual still life she had drawn what looked to be a very cartoonish lizard getting chopped in half.

Irritated at her own distractions she brushed the pink shavings onto the floor where she would sweep them up at the end of the day.

At 8:00 the teacher swept into the room in all her glory. A mug of coffee in one hand and the day's assignments in the other; she scanned the room like a living corpse. The liver spots on her hands seemed more pronounced today than usual. A sign to the rest of the class that her temper was just a few degrees from being set off.

Mrs. Kuramoti was the physics teacher, but that was just her day job. During the morning hours she was like any other 80-year-old woman. Crabby, irritated, and especially annoyed at the younger population. Well, maybe she wasn't quite like your average 80 year old. Around Hikari's class she had gotten the nickname of Harpy. Why? Simple. Her fingers were gnarled hooks that took to grabbing the back of the neck of anyone who dared turn their head and talk to their friends during an assignment or test and her black hair was cropped right at her ears and weighted down with so much hair spray it stuck out violently. But the thing that really gave her name were her beady black eyes drenched in far too much mascara. Despite her initial hatred toward the students that was just her day life. At night she hit the gambling bars and casinos; amounting small fortunes in poker chips and custom dice.

With her squinty glare she surveyed the room and rapped a ruler on the desk. Squawking in her high, gravely voice she declared, "No school announcements outside today. Principal's sick and the student council's still recovering from that 'chicken' incident." Her beady eyes turned a size smaller as two boys in the back of the class did a small air high five to each other.

Grumbling to herself she turned her back on the room and picked up a piece of chalk. The atmosphere turned heavy as she rasped out laws and intentionally raked her nails against the board.

This is mainly how Hikari's day went. From one teacher to the next, struggling through economics and science until at last lunch came around.

The bell rang for lunch and the English instructor gave a weary smile. He could now satisfy himself with a nice round of onigiri before the next class. Hikari watched half interested as the class arranged themselves in their own little groups, eagerly opening their lunches and displaying the bounty before their friends.

Hikari reached into her own desk to retrieve her hastily packed lunch. The exotic contents were an apple, a small bowl of cold rice, some rice crackers, and a thermos of nuked green tea. Oh, boy.

It took only a whooping five minutes to consume this feast and Hikari found that nuked green tea was something one could never get used to. Packing away her lunch box in the small lockers at the back of the classroom she mused on how she was going to approach going back home. _By now Kiyoshi will have noticed that the scroll was gone._ She sighed, _I guess I'll just have to tell him the truth and hope it doesn't kill him._

Feeling her own personal rain cloud escort her back to her seat Hikari slumped into it and felt in her desk for her sketchbook. Flipping through it she found the half finished drawing she had done of a rose. It was simple enough, first the whole rose bush had been drawn and then she'd picked one rose and darkened, detailed, enhanced, and shaded it according to the mood she was trying to bring across. The rest of the bush she had lightened and smudged slightly in places to give it the feel that it was out of focus.

Getting lost with in the complicated pattern of rose thorns and vines Hikari let herself go. Her mind wandered through the days events, past experiences, the night's adventures, everything slipped through her mind's eye in quiet recognition. Fingers scratched with the simple pencil, lines were rubbed out, lengthened, and the simple rose bush expanded on the page until it was covering the whole sheet in twisting greenery.

It wasn't until 10 minutes of this bliss had passed that Hikari began to become aware of her favorite electric buzz. Feeling a slight tick in her right temple Hikari slowed her pencil movements to sloth speed and closed her eyes.

In the past 24 hours the feeling had been going off like a metal detector at a stapler factory. It was draining Hikari and irritating her. Deciding that she had had enough of this little buzz she curled her legs up underneath herself, (making sure the skirt didn't show anything that might end up in a year book somewhere), in a lotus like position and flipped her notebook to a fresh page. Letting the pencil squiggle freely in the white confines she concentrated and began the exorcises that Kiyoshi had been teaching her since she was 6 years old.

First she had to slow her breathing and her heart rate. With precision her breaths became gradually slower, each one was a little longer than the last with just a little more time in between the next breath until her chest was barely moving. As she was doing this she slowed her heartbeat. This was even more important than her breathing. If she wasn't careful she could slow her heartbeat too fast and end up in the emergency room and if she lowered her heartbeat too much then there would be no need to go to the emergency room.

Luckily for Hikari, Kiyoshi had demanded she perfect this extreme meditation technique, so it only took a few minutes before she felt she was ready. The next step was harder, though. Using her memory Hikari placed herself in a spot that she could picture with exact detail. She had to know every inch of the place. This took a little more time. Block by block she painstakingly built her small world. Every centimeter was paid close attention to and nothing was spared a double check. In this new world Hikari opened her eyes and examined her handiwork closely.

It was the garden outside the temple. Exactly as she left it the last time she had been meditating. Every detail was perfect, even the stain on the temple roof where lightening had struck it the year past. For a few seconds Hikari enjoyed the simple peace that her home brought her, and then she set to work dissembling everything she saw. Everything was stripped in layers from her world. First the leaves, the outside of the temple, then the grass was gone, the flowers, the water, the dirt, the whole temple, and then the sky, the sun. Everything was taken away until Hikari was left in a totally white world.

She gazed around; it was like a new piece of paper in her sketchbook, just waiting to be imagined. But Hikari didn't come here to draw in her mind. Instead she imagined a barrier around herself and with care she stretched it out all around her. Blocking the shivers that were cascading up and down her back. This is what she always did when the feeling got particularly bad. It was the remedy that Kiyoshi taught her to prevent the strange electic like feelings from becoming to much. Sometimes a rebellious thought would tempt her with the idea of letting the feelings build, expand inside her, a let loose, but Kiyoshi had cautioned against those actions. Saying it was better not to find out and stay safe.

30 seconds was all it normally took to quiet the feeling, at least for a few days. Then she would emerge from her meditation, go back to her drawing and spend the next 20 minutes of lunch in solitude like she did every day.

But for some reason, today, of all days, the feeling wouldn't go away. The longer she meditated the stronger the vibe would get. In her white world the shield she had put up around herself was shaking with the force of the feeling. In some places it was even cracking. This had never happened before.

The shield broke and a wave of noise and feeling broke over her. Frustrated Hikari broke out of her mental exercises and glared into the back of her eyelids. A bead of sweat ran down her temple. That had been tiring, more so than usual. She couldn't go back and try to chain the feeling back up like she had been doing. It wouldn't allow that and more frustrating was Hikari realized she wasn't strong enough to try again.

_ I can't take it. There have been too many chills running down my back in the last 24 hours. I'm exhausted and I can't keep it locked up anymore. _A frown worked its way onto her face. _It did save me many times last night...Maybe I should try…Kiyoshi is only worried I can't handle something so foreign, but I think I can. It must be inside me for a reason._ An electric current ran through her body so fiercly that goosebumps followed behind it and her finger and toes tingled. _ Alright! I'll listen to what it has to say! Happy! _

She felt a flash of light behind her eyes and Hikari could almost swear that she felt a silent _yes_ resonate throughout her body. Feeling a sense that she was about to unleash something that should have stayed locked up Hikari went back to her meditative state, repeating the steps she had just done. Imagining the garden, taking the garden down and then sitting in the white world. But this time, instead of forcing the feeling away, like she usually did, she remained still and called for it. Searched for it.

At first there was nothing. Just emptiness. Then distantly she began to hear a dull thud, almost like an extremely low bass drum pounding away in the corners of her mind. It was hesitant drumming, as if the person pounding away wasn't sure it was doing the right thing.

Curiosity began eating away at Hikari and the doubt she had had most of her life about the feeling vanished. She wanted to know more. Taking a breath Hikari stood up from her lotus position on the floor and gingerly began walking toward the noise. It was a steady rhythm, but soft and quiet.

Hikari walked faster, wanting to find the source of the noise. It got a little louder, almost as if encouraged by her increasing pace. She walked a little faster, gathering herself up into a light jog; it got faster, matching her footsteps. Hikari went into a full jog and grinned as the drumming got louder and faster. It was intoxicating. She had to know. She had to know what had been living with her in her sub-conscious for all these years. Watching her. Looking out for her.

She ran. The white world was endless but she felt as if she was getting closer. Desperately she looked around wildly for the source. Willing it to be there. Be it a crazed native on the bongos or some possessed marching drum, she didn't care. She had to know.

That's when she saw it. A door. It was white like everything else around her, but it was floating a few feet up from the ground. This wasn't entirely new. When she was little Kiyoshi had put Hikari through a 'mind journey'. In it she had explored her own mind and discovered that things such as feelings, memories, wishes, even her own personality were behind doors that were hidden in the strangest places in her mind. The doors were usually painted to sort of symbolize what might lie beyond and each had a simple doorknob on them.

This door was different.

It was stark white with a black handle. It was made of thick wood and covered in chains. Hikari felt her heartbeat picking up and quickly slowed to a walk. Furrowing her brows she concentrated and brought her heart back down. If it sped back up she would come out of this state and there was no telling if she would be able to do this again.

Stopping before the door Hikari realized that the awesome drumming was coming from the chains. They were all beating against the door frantically, no longer in sync, as she got closer to them. The chains spread against the door in waves and some sense told Hikari that each chain symbolized every meditation she had ever done to try and 'seal' this door away.

Looking at it she realized that it was very close to actually being locked away for good. One more intense meditation would do it and then it would be gone, possibly forever.

Hikari was at a crossroad. Either she sit down now and seal this door, vanish the feeling and finally feel as if she belonged, as if she were normal, or she open the door and realize just what the feeling truly was.

The answer was simple. With a slight smirk Hikari whispered to her own mind, "Who really wants to be normal?' And she opened the door.

An explosion of noise and color rushed out at Hikari. It engulfed her with symbols and hues. All breathtaking and frightening in their complex patterns and almost violent intrusion upon her white world. They blended together forming shapes and designs. Fusing together and then breaking off to join with another. At first Hikari couldn't tell where the colors were coming from and then she saw it. In the center of the room was a brilliant orb, pulsing with colors. She gazed at it and nothing but dazzling diamond greeted Hikari's eyes, so much so that she nearly lost her concentration and ended back in reality.

Gritting her teeth, Hikari shielded her eyes and drew back slightly. The light continued to stream through her subconscious, seeking every nook and cranny. It invaded everything. Seeking her dreams, thoughts, fears, wishes, and desires. The light took complete control in that one second, making sure it's imprint would remain and that it wouldn't be pushed back or forgotten ever again.

That's when Hikari realized what the light really was. It was her feelings, that extra sixth sense, premonition, intuition, whatever you wanted to call it, that sense that went beyond seeing, but truely feeling the world around you. This was the electric shock that invaded her senses whenever something terrible or wonderful was about to happen. If she were in danger or if she was about to get an unexpected wish it would ring like a crystal bell. Telling her, warning her.

Now here it was. After so many years of Hikari rejecting the feeling it rejoiced at her finally accepting it. It realized that Hikari was willing to try and so it was going to as well, but it was going to see to that Hikari wouldn't back out when things got complicated. The feeling was going to make sure she wouldn't forget it.

The light dimmed slightly and Hikari let her arm fall to her side as she watched the light gently cascade down to a soft pink, then purple light. It coated her with ripples of color and warmth. Then small pieces began to drift away from the source and like fireflies they surrounded her. Coming close, as if examining her, and then floating away. It looked as if she were underwater in greens, blues, reds, and purples.

Hikari smiled and the light responded with a brilliant yellow pulse that raced across the corners of her mind. Taking a small step forward Hikari reached toward the orb of light that acted as conductor. The orb pulsed gently and shimmered as Hikari's fingers grazed across the cool surface.

Smiling Hikari let her hand fall to her side and quietly asked, "So, was there something you wanted to tell me?" The orb glimmered, almost like it was winking, and the colors that had been dancing across the walls suddenly morphed into Hikari's classroom. It showed herself, sitting lotus style, completely motionless, except for her right hand at her desk, and the rest of the class enjoying their lunches within their groups.

The orb blinked rapidly and the scene zoomed in on the desk in front of Hikari. A purse was open and several of the contents had spilled onto the desk, displaying lipstick, hair ties, and an open compact. It was the compact that the orb was blinking at. In the mirror was a desperate green headed someone, repeatedly giving wild hand signals.

Hikari studied the image for a few seconds before she glanced back over at the light. "Kasumi is telling the truth. She was my ancestor's spirit guide." The orb swiftly changed from pale green to blue, a yes as it were. Hikari blew violently through her nose, "You want me to listen to what she has to say, don't you?" The ball of light floated over to her and gave her a quick bop on the head. She waved the over sized firefly away and grinned. "Alright. Alright. I know you wouldn't bother me if it wasn't important so I'll give it a try."

Hikari watched as her classroom became slightly blurry, not looking at the friendly light bulb she asked, "I'm never going to be able to see you again am I?" The orb turned gray, and floated over to her side. She could feel a small breeze brush her cheeks as the winds that kept it afloat washed over her. The little light didn't need to have words or a face to convey what it was saying. Hikari could feel its sadness, its regrettable answer. No. This would be the only time they would ever see, or speak to each other.

The orb phased through one color in a slow procession, all were a dull color. Despair spread across Hikari's face, though this was the first time she'd ever gotten to be with her inner light as it were it was like being reunited with a lost sibling. Something she'd never had and to hear that she'd never get to see this little light again was heartbreaking. Gloomily, she thought; _And_ _here I thought I might actually have someone I could share something with. How pathetic, even the beings inside my own mind can't be with me. _

There was a mad buzzing sound coming from above Hikari and she realized that the orb was now bright orange and zipping around her head. She got the jolt of frustration and something hot shot through her nerves. It was mad at her.

Confused Hikari looked up at it. _Did it hear me? _The orb flashed a brief blue and then zoomed down to her eye level. She looked at it sadly, "Why? Why can't I still see you?" The orb drained its orange glow to replace it with a soft green and looked at her kindly, willing her to understand. Hikari stared at the ground, she'd known all along but didn't want to give in. "You're not really a person. You're me in a way and this, as sad as it is to say, is like talking with an imaginary friend. Wonderful to have but it was never real."

The glowing light bulb flashed blue and turned a soft grey as it felt Hikari's disappointment. Softly it gave her one emotion. The one it knew that she wanted most. The only one it could ever send her, but never give.

Hikari started as the warm, understanding, and safe sensation descended upon her. Her numb fingers tingled with the feeling and it was all Hikari could do to keep from smiling. It was as if she'd been locked away for years and this one time in her entire life she'd gotten to see the sun for the first time. It was beautiful.

"I don't understand! What is this? Why do I feel this way? Why do you keep sending me this feeling? At first I thought it was a warning and now." She threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't know anymore."

The orb pulsed white this time and displayed upon the walls of the room a long, thin black object with a bulky red shaped triangle on the end. Other than that Hikari couldn't make anything out. She looked back at the orb for guidance but it remained that dazzling white. Slowly, she understood. "I just have to wait, don't I?" It flashed blue.

Hikari felt a slight tremor, and her heartbeat began picking up. The lunch hour was up and people were moving their seats back. It was time to go.

She looked back up at the light, which was now a dull grey. Even through all the hell Hikari had put it through it had cared for her this entire time. Gently, Hikari wrapped her arms around the glowing mass, feeling its happiness at being accepted and loved by her. "Thank you."

It blinked at her a few times before wiggling out of her arms. Gently it blew the bangs out of her eyes and floated back. Allowing her to leave. Hikari gave a small wave and turned toward the door, when suddenly the little orb began flashing orange and the walls began morphing back into her classroom. It quickly zoomed back in on a person, one who sat towards the head of the room. They had short brown hair, and crystal blue eyes. A boy. It was Ryu Wakumuto and he was staring right at her.

The orb flashed orange frantically, but Hikari was unable to ask what the danger was because she felt herself slipping away. She was going back. Desperately she tried to hold on as long as she could but it was futile. In moments her eyes snapped open and she found herself staring at a pair of wrathful eyes.

She sat up with a jolt and noticed that her pencil had fallen on the floor, the rest of the class was still hurriedly putting their desks back in order, and Ryu was watching her. Hikari quickly reached down and retrieved her pencil; careful to keep her eyes adverted from Ryu's. The orb hadn't liked him, it was warning her against him, but why? She'd never even had a conversation with the guy.

Hikari slipped her math book out and started when she looked back down at her drawing. The whole paper was a black mass of violent scratches that covered everything in a desperate black. Everything was smothered in insane and almost murderess pencil markings. It was utter chaos. All of it except for the middle. In the center a pair of loathing eyes stared back at her, mocking her, killing her from the inside. Quickly Hikari shut the notebook and shoved it in the farthest corner of her desk. She knew those eyes.

Those were Yukio's eyes.

Hikari barely even registered herself standing and bowing as the math teacher, Ms. Kimihora, walked in. Why had she drawn him of all people? Had the experience in her mind drawn out her fears or was the orb reminding her of the most important danger?

She shook her head as she sat back in her seat. The drawing had scared her, yes, but she wasn't going to let it get to her. She needed to worry about something else. Something closer at hand, something she could deal with. Her eyes darted back over to Ryu who was staring with rapt attention at Ms. Kimihora. His usual self, perfect grades, attire, and complexion. He was one of the school's brightest and most popular heartthrob.

Dreamy eyes, flowing hair with bangs that seemed to always be in his eyes, and a voice that sent chills up young girls spines he was a catch that only the most daring shot for. So far no one had shot far enough. He was unreachable. His only devotion seemed to be his schoolwork and he had the personality of shaved ice without the syrup. Many had tried but all had failed. Even some guys had gone for him, thinking he swung that way. They had left him with bruised arms and black eyes. Apparently getting chocolate for Valentine's Day from one of his fellow males hadn't really gone over well. So the girls were certain he liked them, it was just none of them knew how to reach him.

It was strange then that the orb should warn Hikari about him since she was sure he didn't even know she'd gone to school with him since they were 5. She studied him, but couldn't tell if there was anything unusual about him. Feeling a little freaked out Hikari decided she would keep her eye on him and proceed with caution for the next few days.

_Now for that other task at hand. _She looked over the shoulder of the girl in front of her. It was five minutes into class and Kumiko was already asleep. Keeping one eye on the teacher and the other on Kumiko, Hikari deftly reached inside the purse on the desk, extracted the compact, and quickly leaned back in her seat.

Making sure that a particularly hard problem was in the works at the front of the room, Hikari opened the little makeup applier to see a breathless Kasumi smiling at her. She was just about to give the signal for quiet when Hikari remembered that she was the only one who could hear her. Feeling slightly stupid she gave Kasumi a wave.

Kasumi twirled around in excitement in the powder-ridden mirror. "Boy, I'm so glad I finally reached you. It took _forever _to find a mirror in this classroom." She giggled and threw a thumb over her shoulder, "Good thing these girls are so obsessed with these little powder boxes or else I would have been done for."

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "Mirrors? You need mirrors to talk to me?" The spirit guide nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, it's like my medium. You see, right now I'm just a soul, I don't even have a ghost so it's very dangerous for me to be out in the real world. But I can use the mirrors so it's safer and this way I have a body as well." The high schooler blinked in surprise. "What? You mean you're not alive?"

She shook her head, a semblance of remorse tugging at her lips. "No, but we'll get into all of that later. Everything, the true story will be explained. But at the moment we have a little bit of a problem."

A sense of foreboding loomed over Hikari, holding herself back from twirling the ring on her hand she whispered, "What kind of problem?" Here Kasumi did something strange. She rubbed the back of her head and stared at the ceiling, as if gathering her thoughts from the fluorescent lights above. "Well…you see the thing is…When you were about to die last night…I...well…" She trailed off, at a lose of how to answer the rest of the question.

Holding the small compact a little too tightly Hikari leaned forward and trying to keep her voice low, whispered harshly, "Kasumi! What haven't you told me?" The little green haired woman retreated a few steps back into the mirror and answered in a panicky voice. "In order to save you from death I used the scroll to summon a very powerful entity from Spirit World to rescue you and kill the demons. The problem is I was very flustered and you can say, rusty, when I summoned the guy so I just sort of…choose a name at random and as it turns out…"

"Kasumi what did you do!" Hikari was barely able to keep her voice under control as she felt the strings of a deadly web begin to tighten around her. In a rush Kasumi squeaked, "I accidentally summoned a high A class demon from the 6th gate of hell and I promised him that if he saved you he was free to go. If Spirit World finds out we're done for and who knows what _he'll_ do." She trailed off, thinking of unseen punishment and destruction in the not too distant future.

A cold hand balled itself into a fist and slammed into Hikari's stomach. A very powerful inmate of hell had saved her not even 12 hours ago and not only was Kasumi at fault for his break out, but she was as well. _Kiyoshi is going to kill me…_

She was starting to feel just as panicked as Kasumi was. _Don't go there Hikari, deep breaths, keep your sanity, stay calm and think. _Hikari closed her eyes and inhaled a few times. A few seconds passed. She opened her eyes, a little calmer, and checked back in with Kasumi. Not so good.

She was running in circles, tears streaming out of her eyes, and muttering something about spankings. Clearing her throat Hikari whispered to Kasumi. "It's okay. It's okay! Don't worry Kasumi; we're going to figure this out without anyone knowing. All we need to do is track him down, capture him or convince him to go back to hell. If we do it fast enough Spirit World will never know and he can't have done too much yet could he? Just stay calm. We'll figure it out. "

Kasumi nodded like an infant, hanging on every word. She had no clue as to what to do. Sighing, Hikari thought for a moment before turning back to the spirit guide. "We'll need information on him. Anything we can get so we can find him. What do you know about him?"

She frowned. "Not much. I'll have to get my ink set out to find out anything." Hikari nodded, "That's great, but is there anything that you know about him off of the top of your head?" She brightened and nodded rapidly, "Yes. His name is Kuronue."

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A/N: 17 pages my friends….17….But the best news is this story is over 50 pages long! WOOOO! As I said in the beginning, thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed, and even to you people who just read, I know you're there, my stats speak volumes. Arigato!


	5. Wanted

Author's Note: I'm back. After five long years there's an update and I promise that it will not be another 5 years before the next one. Due to computer issues, erased hard drives, moving-

Yusuke: She's lazy and procrastinates people. Don't let her fool you.

Sasonie: ^_^; aha, yes, well. That too. Regardless, I apologize for such a long period in between updates. You guys are amazing and I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

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Prisoner: AIIIX43M25

Location: Hell, Level 6, Section 12

Sentence: Eternity

Judge: Lord Koenma, Prince of Spirit World, Son of King Enma

Time served: 50 years

Crime(s): Thievery (see section M.2 for detailed list), Murder (see section D.8 for list of victims), Attempted murder (see section T.9 for list of victims), Failure to cooperate with Spirit Defense Force with arrest on six separate occasions, Participation in the escape of partner: AKA Youko Kurama, and Participation in illegal activities with Black Market (see section J.4 for list of specific activities).

Parole Evaluation: 3902 C.E.

Species: Demon

Name: Kuronue

Height: 6 ft.

Weight: 193 lbs.

Hair color: Black

Eye color: Purple

Abilities: Extensive martial art knowledge, highly adept with scythes, wings allow for short distance gliding and advanced balance, special abilities known: Manipulation of shadows; extent unknown.

Class: A

Threat Level: Severe

Koenma stared down at the red file on his desk, sweat beading his brow, and listened quietly as Botan reported the latest news on the breakout.

"-and the sweeps of levels 5 and 4 have revealed nothing. A thorough questioning of the guards of all levels and even Limbo has been completed and no one has reported any suspicious activity, unusual spirit levels, or breach of security of any kind. "

Botan spread her hands, completely at a loss. "Honestly, Sir, it's as if Kuronue has vanished into thin air. Our readings can't find him in Spirit World at all."

Koenma closed his eyes. In all of Spirit World history there had never been a breakout. It was simply impossible. Souls stayed confined to their assigned destinations under the strictest security and without spiritual energy of any kind it was inconceivable how a defenseless soul could even attempt to escape.

They were in a crisis and if Kuronue wasn't found soon it would reach massive proportions. If there was some new technology out in the Human or Demon World that could recall souls the repercussions would be monstrous. Spirit World had the most evil and bloodthirsty souls kept under tight lock and key. If there was a way even one of those souls could be unleashed upon humanity… Well, it was too horrible for Koenma to imagine.

The Prince of Spirit World knew in this emergency he had only one option and it wouldn't be pretty. Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked seriously at Botan.

"Botan, postpone all of my appointments and reassign all of my paperwork to the underlings. I want a complete search of all the levels of Hell and another reading done to make sure that we are absolutely certain Kuronue's soul has left Spirit world."

He hopped down off his chair and circled around his desk, ticking items off his fingers as he talked. "Get in touch with our contacts in the Black Market. I want to know if anything's surfaced in Demon World that has the potential to call back souls. Send an ambassador to King Enki, notify him of the situation, and ask about any activity that could be related. Keep up constant surveillance of all spiritual activity in Human World. If someone so much as sneezes a spirit wave I want to know about it. I also want ears down there."

Koenma stopped in front of Botan and looked up at her. "I want you to check in with Yusuke, ask him if he's heard anything, and to keep a look out. Make sure he understands the gravity of the situation."

Botan nodded gravely.

He paused in his orders, thinking, nodded once, and continued. "Just to be safe, if you can find him, contact Hiei as well. He patrols the portals between worlds; he might have seen or heard something that could be useful."

"Sir," Botan asked hesitantly, "should we inform Kurama about Kuronue?"

Koenma shook his head. "I don't want to tell Kurama anything just yet. I can't predict what he might do, but I'm sure he won't help us." He paled. "He doesn't even know I judged Kuronue to an eternity in Hell."

"But won't he find out anyway? Yusuke's bound to ask him for help." Botan questioned.

His brow creased with worry. An irate Kurama was dangerous, but there was nothing to be done about it at the moment.

"We'll cross that bridge when we have to. Right now, I want you to stay in the Human realm and help Yusuke. Disbanded detectives or no, we need all the help we can get. I'll have Ayami check in with you periodically."

Oar already in her hands Botan asked. "And you, Sir, what do you plan to do?"

"The situation is too dangerous", the tiny ruler bowed his head, "I'll have to ask my father to alert the SDF and send them out."

"The SDF! " Botan exclaimed. "The situation can't be that serious, can it? Kuronue's only a soul; he'll expire in hours without a ghost or body."

"We can't be certain of anything Botan. For all we know the person behind this knew what they were doing and made the necessary preparations for his soul." He sighed. "As it is, we can't take any chances; which is why I have to leave immediately to inform my father of the situation."

Koenma headed for the door. Botan followed behind him, but neither made it more than a few steps before the large doors burst open and Jorge stumbled in frantically waving a sheet of paper over his head.

"Koenma Sir! Koenma! The latest report of spiritual activity in Human World has arrived!"

The large, blue ogre skidded to a stop in front of his miniature boss, holding out the report. Koenma barely paused. Brushing past his subordinate he ordered, "No time. Give it to Ayami; she'll take the required actions."

"But Sir!" Jorge protested. "It's very important. They told me to give it to you right away. Something's happened in the Human realm!"

Koenma sighed, turned around, and held out his hand. "Alright, hand it over."

Jorge thrust the paper into the Prince's hands and waited expectantly as Koenma frowned at the report.

At first the little Lord only appeared confused as he read, but then his face paled, fresh sweat budded on his forehead, and his mouth fell open.

"No…no…It can't be! It just. It can't! It was supposed to be forgotten, guarded,_ impossible_ even!" Koenma stuttered through his disbelief at the report.

"What? What's wrong Lord Koenma?" Botan asked.

Koenma's hand fisted around the paper and he bolted for the door shouting, "I have to inform my father at once! We've got an even bigger problem than Kuronue on our hands! The future of the Human World as we know it is in jeopardy!"

Back on Earth a baseball game was about to come to a crashing halt.

It was gym class and while most students would welcome the break from classes not everyone was so enthusiastic about the game.

Three individuals, in fact, decided they had more important matters at hand than playing ball.

The first was a boy by the name of Zen. As a general rule, he avoided all physical activity whenever possible. He had flunkies to do the work for him. Why should he dirty his hands with menial labor or pointless diversions?

Zen pinched up his narrow face and crossed his arms. His teammates were aware of his utter disdain for the game and his complete refusal to do anything but stand. So they had placed him in the right outfield, knowing that since the majority was right handed the ball would be soaring left, and they wouldn't have to count on him to do anything.

This suited Zen just fine. Except that the school hadn't mowed the grass that morning and his spotless, high dollar sneakers were getting unsightly grass stains.

He sighed irritably, scratched his nose, re-crossed his arms, and glowered at a building across the street.

_'What a waste of time.'_ He thought.

Zen could be figuring his next sales revenue on those fake Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards he'd sold to some gullible pre-teens. He smirked as he remembered their glossy eyes at the 'deal' they were getting on such rare cards.

_'Suckers._'

Zen was so busy gloating that he didn't hear the shouts, didn't see the ominous shadow fall over him, but he did feel the baseball smack right into the back of his head. He also felt the long grass shoot up his nostrils as he crashed into the ground.

Over in the dugout Hikari smirked.

_'Karma's a bitch._' She observed.

Most of the class, including the frantic gym instructor, was rushing to the scene. Hikari and a few of her other classmates that felt justice had just been served remained behind to watch.

Hikari was the second person that felt that she had more important things to do than baseball. She sat in the back of the dugout on the dirty bench, a large leather glove sitting beside her, and a pink compact in her hand.

Every few minutes she'd open the compact and peek inside at the mirror. To the rest of the class it appeared as if Hikari was obsessively checking on the beginnings of a greasy zit or harsh sunburn.

In actuality she was furiously reading every scrap of information that Kasumi could dig up on Kuronue. She'd located her ink set (It had been hiding in a large pocket in her pants) and was scribbling instructions madly trying to dig through Spirit World's new library system.

Problem was, she'd been out of the game for a while and there were quite a few terms she wasn't familiar with.

She'd fumbled around with concepts like 'computer', 'video', and 'software' for a while before she'd been able to access Kuronue's file. What they'd finally discovered hadn't cheered either of them up. They now knew that finding the demon wouldn't be possible. Spirit World had ways of being alerted to the presence of any being with a C class or higher energy signature. Kuronue would know this and act accordingly. Hikari was sure he was already in Demon World far out of her reach.

However, the two had just discovered they needn't worry about keeping Kuronue a secret. It appeared that Spirit World already knew and was sending out people to locate and retrieve him as they sat.

This news had perked up Hikari for a brief moment. With Spirit World on the case her involvement surely wouldn't be necessary. Kuronue was now Spirit World's problem, not hers.

Kasumi, as she was wont to do, terminated this happy thought.

"Spirit World will want to know_ how_ Kuronue escaped in the first place. When they find out you activated the Scroll of Heart's Desire, the scroll you were supposed to protect, and used it to unleash a powerful demon condemned to Hell they're going to be furious."

"Hey," Hikari reminded the deceased ferry girl tersely, "_I_ wasn't the one who broke him out! You could have sent me one of those retired spirit detectives with the scroll. Hell, a bazooka even! I was very vague in my request."

While getting changed for gym Hikari asked Kasumi how she'd activated the scroll. It nagged at her that out of all her ancestors she'd been the one to tap into its power. When, in true Hikari style, it had happened completely by accident with a rather embarrassing result.

Apparently, Kasumi revealed, there was no secret password. The scroll demanded payment in the form of the blood, tears, and breathe of an ancestor of Takashi. Hikari's bleeding hands, sobbing, and desperate scream of help had done the trick. The scroll was activated.

However, that was only half of it. Hikari then had to focus her will into that raw power and form her desire. Being drug to her death had been more than enough focus for her to form the desire to have her life saved and that's what the scroll interpreted. Hikari needed a savior.

The rest had, well, been up to Kasumi.

It was her job to direct the power once it was unleashed and the desire identified.

Hikari felt a surge of sympathy and respect for Kasumi when she admitted she'd volunteered to be sacrificed with Takashi and sealed inside the Scroll. Takeshi knew the amount of power resulting from the Scroll's use and his simultaneous death with Yukio would be immense and this leftover energy would need to be sealed away safely.

Kasumi killed herself the moment Takeshi activated the Scroll, sealing her soul and the extra power inside to ensure it remained that way until the day it would be needed most. Upon its next activation it was up to her to direct the Scroll's energy in the best possible way to grant the user's desire. Takeshi thought his decedents would need its power in a time of great turmoil and need.

Hikari mused that right about now her great plus grandfather was probably smacking his head against a wall somewhere in Spirit World, wondering how his offspring could be so stupid and his spirit helper so frazzled.

Kasumi squirmed in the mirror, mumbled something about not working well under pressure, and responded. "Well, he's still our responsibility. We let him out. We need to put him back."

Unfortunately, Hikari agreed. However, she was realistic and didn't suffer from a pride complex like most people. She held no delusions that she and a talking mirror were going to single handedly track down a powerful demon and send him back to Hell. They needed help; experienced, powerful help and she'd crawl and beg for it if that's what she needed to do to get the job done.

That's what she was having Kasumi look up now. Those ex-spirit detectives her grandfather had mentioned. They fit all of her qualifications nicely and if Hikari was lucky she could find and convince one of them to lend her a hand. Or at least give the detective a convenient heads up.

She tapped her foot impatiently as Zen was hauled to his feet by two other boys. His face was smeared with dirt, his shirt torn, and a large lump was rising at the base of his skull. He appeared dazed, almost drunk, as he drooped between reluctant shoulders.

The gym teacher instructed the boys to escort, (it looked more like drag to Hikari), Zen off the field and announced at large to those gathered around that class was over and everyone was to report to the showers.

Hikari stuffed the compact into her pocket, grabbed her dusty glove, and followed the others out of the dugout.

Walking across the field she fell behind as she tried to form some semblance of a plan for when Kasumi gave her the location of the nearest Spirit Detective. She'd have to skip school, possibly leave the temple for a few days…

_'Would Kiyoshi buy me staying at a friend's house?'_ Hikari quickly scrapped that thought. '_Nah, he'd see right through that. Even if I was allowed to stay in the city I've never asked before. He'd know something was up.'_

She played with her ring, lagging further behind. _'Suppose I'll have to turn rebel and sneak out. Leave Kiyoshi a note, explain everything when this mess gets cleared up and I get back.'_

Hikari sighed, imagining Kiyoshi's reaction to her empty bed and a hasty letter; she really was going to be the death of the poor man.

"Something troubling you?"

She glanced over her shoulder, felt her heart skip a beat, missed her next step, and tripped.

A strong hand grabbed her around the waist before she hit the ground with her face. Good thing too, Hikari was sure her mouth was still gaping open.

Ryu Wakumuto held her gently, concern furrowing his brows.

"Did I startle you? I'm sorry. I should have addressed you properly." He said.

Hikari continued to stare for a second longer, realized her mouth was still hanging open, promptly shut it, took a careful step away from Ryu, and prayed to Buddha her face wasn't as red as she thought it was.

"No, distracted, wasn't paying attention. My fault." She mumbled. " Thanks."

Ryu smiled. "You're welcome, Miss Yasahiromuto."

"Hikari, you can call me by my first name if you wish." Hikari mentally slapped herself as the words left her mouth.

_'If you wish? Ugh. When was the last time I spoke to someone other than Kiyoshi? Wednesday maybe? I _think_ that's when Kumiko thanked me for waking her up with my pencil before class. Or was that Tuesday?'_

She was so caught up trying to remember the exact day she almost missed Ryu asking if he could walk with her as far as the showers.

"Er, sure, why not?"

The two continued toward the school building in, what appeared to Hikari, awkward silence. Ryu seemed perfectly at ease while she fidgeted with her baseball glove, uncomfortably aware that several of the other girls were watching with stunned eyes.

She wasn't completely stupid. Hikari knew there had to be a motive behind Ryu's sudden interest in her. Ryu getting interested in _any_ girl was abnormal. That it was her just doubled Hikari's suspicion; she didn't need her orb's ominous warning to know she was to tread lightly around the guy.

Still, Hikari couldn't help but feel a little flattered with the effort he made into making polite small talk as they walked inside, especially since she couldn't seem to form very coherent responses.

He stopped outside the locker rooms. Hikari paused beside him, unsure what exactly she was supposed to do.

_'Do I just stand here or should I leave? I'd _like_ to run away. Probably rude…definitely rude. Maybe he wants me to say something?'_ She bit her lip. They were beginning to draw looks from the boys too. She saw some of them raising an eyebrow or two at her, trying to figure out what they'd overlooked.

_'Dammit. Why can't he say something, _he_ started this. Hmm, maybe I should propose to study or something. Too forward? Maybe I can get away with just waving goodbye …'_

He interrupted her before she could come to a decision.

"Hikari, I don't mean to be direct. But perhaps I could escort you home, or at least to the bus?" Ryu asked.

She stared, again. The compact was vibrating in her pocket; Kasumi had found one of the detectives, which meant she'd be leaving home tonight to ask for their help in taking care of Kuronue. Belatedly she realized there was a very good chance she could die in the attempt. Kiyoshi was going to be in a state of panic over her disappearance and the Scroll's, and here was Ryu, elusive heart throb of the school, asking to walk her home.

Hikari felt the fabric of her predictable and sane world begin to unravel, getting itself tangled in hopeless knots. The universe itself was skidding to a grinding halt, planets were zinging off into distant reaches of space as the backlash hit them, and stars were imploding in on themselves in shock. She was sure she had glimpsed fate looking back, do a double take, and ask itself what the hell just happened.

But, most surprising of all, she heard herself say, 'Okay.'

Stunned, Hikari turned and walked stiffly into the locker room; not trusting herself to make eye contact with anyone least they spontaneously burst into flame. Her life had completely flipped in less than 24 hours. She didn't know if it was her ill luck or a bored King Yama making everything so utterly bizarre.

To play it safe, Hikari kept her eyes firmly trained on the ground and avoided all reason to communicate with her classmates for the final two hours of school.

When her last class ended, her cleaning duties were finished, and nothing else unexpected happened Hikari almost smiled. Until Ryu casually walked over to her desk, his book bag tossed over one shoulder, and patiently waited for her to finish putting her notebook in her bag.

She swallowed nervously, slipped her arms through the bag's straps, and looked up at Ryu. He smiled, a breath stealing smile, and Hikari felt herself blush. She looked at the floor, wishing she could melt into the tile, and mumbled, "I ride Bus 213 home."

"That bus travels outside city limits doesn't it?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied, wondering why he knew which buses left town and which ones didn't.

They stood in silence for a moment, neither making eye contact. Well, to be honest Hikari wasn't really sure. She was concentrating on the floor, willing it to rise up and swallow her.

After a few moments she conceded that the floor wasn't hungry and felt walking awkwardly was better than standing around awkwardly. Hikari headed for the door.

Some of the other students in the halls, namely groups of girls, watched with undisguised suspicion and disbelief when they walked by. Hikari was becoming increasingly self-conscious about this. It was unsettling to suddenly be the object of so much attention after years of enjoyable inconspicuous blending.

Ryu kept pace beside her acting as if this was something he did every day. Hikari envied his cool demeanor.

"You live outside of town?"

Hikari nodded. She didn't trust her mouth to say anything remotely intelligent right now.

Ryu continued, unperturbed at her shy answers. "Must be lonely out in the country. You don't have any siblings, do you?"

Her pace slowed a bit. That tingly feeling was back; in fact she wasn't sure if it had ever left since she had caught Ryu staring at her in class.

"No, I don't and I'm not lonely. I have my grandfather…and a dog. A big dog." Hikari wasn't sure which paranoid part of her mind had broken through on that last bit, but she found herself oddly approving.

Ryu seemed slightly surprised.

"What's its name?" He asked.

"Kuronue." She responded with the first thing that came to her mind. The damn demon had been all she'd been thinking about today.

"An unusual name for a dog." Ryu observed thoughtfully. "What kind is he?"

"He's black. Mixed breed I guess. Not really sure. I sort of…just found him…" Hikari trailed off lamely.

They'd arrived at the bus stop. A few other students were standing around, craning their necks away as the sound of the squealing breaks of bus 213 rounded the corner. It shuddered to a stop; a few of the passengers inside were positioned oddly, obviously still braced for the bus's ancient brakes to fail.

_'It's understandable', _Hikari thought,_ 'the driver's related to Mr. Shang.'_

Ryu faced her, glanced at the opening doors of the bus, and back again. "You should be careful with strays. They can't always be trusted." He said seriously.

Hikari stared at him, feeling hairs stand on end on the back of her neck. There was a double meaning in those words. She had a feeling Ryu knew more than he let on.

"I'll keep that in mind." She replied suddenly no longer so socially awkward around him.

He smiled down at her, "Good, I'd hate to see something bad happen to you Hikari."

On impulse his hand reached out to touch her, his face tender. Hikari looked up at him, startled at the sincerity in his voice. Their eyes locked. Then very gently he brushed his fingertips against her check.

Hikari was completely floored. She'd never been looked at like that before. Touched like that. Her cheeks were on fire again. She was sure people were staring, but for once she didn't seem to mind.

"I'll see you tomorrow Hikari." Ryu said.

She nodded. Her mind curiously empty of a sarcastic remark she watched him turn and walk away. Belatedly she remembered she still had to get on the bus. Stumbling up the steps in a bit of a daze she picked a random seat and slumped into it.

This had definitely been the most insane day of her life, oddly one of the most pleasant in some unexpected ways, but still completely bonkers.

Hikari spent the bus ride in a daze, trying to decide how she felt about Ryu's actions. He wanted something, quite possibly knew something, or else her orb wouldn't have warned her against him. A warning she was taking seriously now that Ryu had made the first move by coming to her directly. Hikari wasn't at all sure how to respond to that and it didn't help that a small part of her had actually liked the attention from him. It was…nice. Awkward and confusing, even without wondering what he was up to, but also pleasant to be around Ryu.

But he did want something from her. She wasn't so senseless that she didn't see that. The question was what?

As far as she could see there were only two things he would know. Either he knew of the Scroll of Heart's Desire, (how, Hikari had no idea), or he knew of Kuronue's release. The comment about the stray dog irked her; he was clearly referring to something else. What exactly, was anyone's guess.

Luckily, she didn't have to concern herself with Ryu for at least a few days. Her main priority was to discover what Kasumi was buzzing about in the compact for. She hadn't had a chance to check in on her. Hopefully, the spirit detective she found was close by and willing to help.

The bus trudged up the steep hill by her home. It creaked to a stop as it reached level ground, sliding perilously back a few feet before the tires found some semblance of purchase in the rocky soil.

As soon as Hikari was sure the bus had finished threatening to careen downhill she slung her backpack over her shoulder and exited the bus. The driver tipped his hat at her before he pulled the doors shut and speeded back towards the city.

Hikari waited for the dust to settle before crossing the road. Ducking under a large mossy branch that marked the entrance to a small trail she began her trek back to the Temple.

She fished in her pocket for the vibrating compact as she took her time walking. Hikari was in no hurry to face Kiyoshi and his reaction at the Scroll's disappearance. She was actually a little surprised he hadn't come after her in a panic about it yet.

Flipping the small mirror open she noticed there were some smudges of black ink on Kasumi's left cheek. She looked frustrated too.

"About time!" Kasumi exclaimed. "I've been trying to reach you for hours!"

"Sorry, I couldn't get a moment to myself without anyone noticing and well, I was distracted." Hikari said.

Kasumi's eyebrows rose. "What's more distracting than Kuronue?" She asked.

"A guy, Ryu Wakumuto, suddenly decided that today was the day to try a hand at a conversation with me." Hikari explained.

The ferry girl's eyes took on a strangely mischievous light. "Ooh, yeah?" She inquired.

Hikari blinked as Kasumi disappeared from view, leaving her staring at her own puzzled expression. She thought she heard wet paint splattering and paper rustling.

"Ryu Wakumuto," Kasumi's voice floated out to her, obviously reading from something. "Age 17, top grades, prominent family, winner of the school's Aikido championship, captain of the swim team…Oh wow. I suppose he _would_ be distracting."

Hikari felt her cheeks pink a bit, she had no idea why, and it made her feel foolish.

"You're not looking him up are you?" She asked more frustrated with her own reaction than Kasumi's snooping. "I thought your brush was limited to Spirit World archives only." She pointed out.

Kasumi reappeared grinning. "Oh, I can access pretty much any type of literary storage I want. Did you know your school just happens to put pictures with personal files?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Fantastic."

"I thought so too. Cute braids by the way."

"As I was saying before," Hikari said quickly getting them back on topic. "Ryu doesn't seem to be what he appears. I think he knows something about my family. Or at least _wants_ to know something."

"What makes you think that?" Kasumi asked.

She hesitated a moment, deciding that it was probably best if she kept the fact she had some sort of Orb- detector of the bad stuff-locked away in her mind to herself.

"Just this…feeling that I have and it's never been wrong before." Hikari replied vaguely.

"Okay, I guess we'll worry about him later." Kasumi shrugged and continued excitedly. "But I did find out where most of the spirit detectives are!"

Hikari clutched the little compact. "Where?"

Kasumi consulted a piece of crinkled paper smeared with black. "We're in luck. It looks like there's definitely two, maybe even three that live in the city."

"What? Just down the road this entire time?" Hikari asked in disbelief.

"According to Spirit World's records." She confirmed. "But we still might have to dig around a little. Their names are listed along with family and known associates so we'll have something to go on if this is out dated." Kasumi appeared rather hopeful at their prospects of locating the detectives.

The first real feelings of relief settled into Hikari's stomach. They had a plan with a good lead. If they were lucky Hikari could sneak back into the temple, grab a few things, and they could be back in the city in very little time. By morning they might even find one of these guys.

"That's great Kasumi. We're finally getting somewhere. I'll just slip past Kiyoshi when we get to the temple and-"

"You won't be going anywhere."

Hikari froze.

A chill rand down her spin and goose-bumps rose in its wake. Her breath hitched, her throat suddenly so dry it was hard to breath.

She knew this voice. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs. Of course, she knew this voice. There was no way she would ever forget it.

Out of all the possible scenarios Hikari had imagined this was the last and most frightening one she could think of. They weren't going to be able to find the spirit detectives in time. She was going to die in this forest before she got the chance to alert anyone of the danger she'd unleashed.

The danger standing right behind her so close she could feel his breath stir her hair. The danger that was known by the name: Kuronue.

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A/N: That's all for now folks. I had considered adding more to this chapter but I feel like this is a great place to keep you in suspense. ^_^ But don't worry, all the chapters from here on out will be centered explicitly on Kuronue and Hikari.


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